After The Thaw: The Complete Trilogy
by Jigsaw13327
Summary: One year after the Great Thaw, the entire kingdom of Arendelle eagerly awaits the marriage of Princess Anna and Kristoff Bjorgman, the ice man. However, an uninvited guest appears and kidnaps Queen Elsa. What follows is a legendary story of love, betrayal, dark magic and adventure. Rated T for action-adventure peril, some disturbing content, and a scene of torture.
1. Introduction

_Introduction_

Hello, new readers and returning fans! Welcome to _After The Thaw: The Complete Frozen: Demons Trilogy!_ Contained within these virtual pages are two previously published stories, _Demons and Targets_ , with the epic finale of the trilogy coming around the corner, _Hunters._ But before you folks dive into these wonderful stories (some of my first fics, actually!), a brief explanation...

After Demons and Targets were completed, I went back and re-read them again. And let me say, I absolutely freaked out at the amount of typos and just bad writing that was in those stories (I mean, Targets is basically Attack of the Clones. Think about it.) Don't get me wrong, I didn't re-write any of the stories. I was merely commenting about "first fic problems."

Anyways, this collection is like a Blu-Ray box set. The two existing stories have been meticulously edited, and spell-checked to ensure that they are at their best and have been combined into basically a larger work. So enjoy the continued adventures of Queen Elsa, her sister Anna, and the rest of the gang. And don't forget to stay tuned for Frozen: Hunters, which is coming soon.

Have a fun read!

 _Jigsaw 13327_


	2. Book I: Prologue

**_BOOK I:_**

 ** _Demons_**

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE:_

 _This is an unofficial sequel to Frozen. This fan fiction considers OUAT to be non-canon._

 _Included in this story are prompts to listen to certain pieces of music that I think enhances the story._

 _Thanks to michellcadenkylover of Deviantart for the cover. Please don't sue me._

 _Special thanks to Walt Disney Studios for corrupting me with this movie. You have ruined my life. Thanks a lot, guys._

 **Jigsaw13327**

* * *

" _Don't get too close_

 _It's dark inside_

 _It's where my demons hide_

 _It's where my demons hide."_

 **Imagine Dragons**

 _"This is gospel, for the fallen ones_

 _Locked away in permanent slumber_

 _Assembling their philosophies_

 _From pieces of broken memories."_

 **Panic! At the Disco**

 _"Something wicked this way comes."_

 **Macbeth, Act IV, Scene I**

* * *

 **Prologue:**

 **Creator of Nightmares**

In between the planes of all existence, on a castle silently hovering in the midst of all the colors, evil was brewing. In the tallest tower of the aforementioned castle worked a young man. No one knew his name, and most people believed him to be a legend, a fairy-tale used to frighten children as they were tucked in for the night, a figure cursed and spat upon by men. The Sorcerer of Arat, as he was known, did not mind such blatant accusations. In fact, he smiled every time he knew he would give nightmares to the world. He had even christened himself the Creator of Nightmares.

His tower where he worked was not so much a laboratory than it was a torture chamber. Insidious devices with sharp spikes and dried blood littered the room nonchalantly. The cramped, unkempt room was dominated by a large, steel table that could be used for many, many purposes. Right now, it was cluttered with books and papers, all written in languages long forgotten.

The Sorcerer of Arat, Creator of Nightmares, sat at this table, hands hurriedly fumbling with the papers. He felt that he was close to his goal, one that had been broiling on the backburner for ten years. He would be even closer, if he could just remember where he had placed that accursed paper. In his excited haste, he knocked over an inkwell. It tumbled to the floor and shattered, black ink spattering the dusty stone tiles. He cursed himself for his clumsiness, and whispered an incantation under his breath.

The inkwell and spilled ink arose. In mid-air, the inkwell amended itself, and the ink filled it. In the space of a few seconds, the inkwell was resting once more on the table, as though the Sorcerer had never knocked it over. After a few more seconds, the Sorcerer found the paper, and brought it to eye level. It only took him less than a minute to read the entire paper. He thrust the paper into the folds of his robes, along with a journal of notes and a book of incantations. Tonight, and the following nights, would become his greatest triumph. Resting back on his heels, he whispered another quiet incantation, and with the blink of an eye and a sudden wind, he vanished from his castle.

A single piece of paper fluttered off of the table and onto the floor. Scrawled across it in spiky handwriting were these words:

 _Dear King Nuri of Arat,_

 _You are Royally Invited to the Marriage of Princess Anna of Arendelle and Kristoff Bjorgman_

 _Arendelle Castle Courtyard, October 30th_ _, Noonday_

 _Reception and Refreshments Afterwards_

 _Queen Elsa of Arendelle Presiding as Mistress of Ceremonies_


	3. Book I: Chapter 1

**I**

 **The Big Day**

Everything was prepared for. Elsa had triple-checked her master list and found that everything had been taken care of. She had personally overseen decorations, cooking, and just about anything else that a wedding entailed. Everybody had rehearsed their timing and cues, and it seemed that her little sister's wedding was just about to go off without a hitch. There was just one problem: Nobody had seen Princess Anna that morning. When servants came to check on her, she had just about screamed "Go away!" at them. Elsa was going to talk to her, but first, she had to compose herself. Her sister's big day wasn't all just about her sister.

Elsa knew that many of the guests coming from near and far were also here to see her, the Snow Queen, and maybe just try to win her hand in marriage. Elsa had practiced the tactics of politely declining so many times that she just about had it down to a science. There were three types of visitors: The "you will marry me and like it", the "lovestruck young man", and the "I'm doing this on a wing and a prayer". The first was dispersed by strong, stern looks and harsh words, the second by mournful faces and soft touches, and the third by skillfully worded refusals. She desperately hoped that nobody would try to court her, but there was always one.

Before she knew it, she was standing outside of Anna's door. She lightly knocked, and sang gently, cutting out Anna before she had time to say a single syllable _(to the tune of "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" From aihara-tenshi on Tumblr.)_  
"Anna? Please I know you're in there. People are wondering where you've been. I know you're nervous, but he is too. I'm right out here for you. Don't make him wait... You've been dreaming of this moment for all your life. Don't let it all slip through..." Gingerly she added one last sentence to the song:  
"Do you want to build a snowman?"

After a few seconds of silence, the door tenderly opened, and there stood Anna. Her dress was a flowing white gown that dwarfed the length of Elsa's old purple cape. She, in short, looked absolutely stunning. The two sisters embraced, and held each other for some time. It was only when a butler announced the opening ceremony that they broke away from each other. Hand in hand, the bride and her maid of honor walked down the steps and towards the courtyard.  
It was incredibly sunny for an October day. Puffy white clouds were splattered incoherently across a canvas of blue sky. Elsa stood off to the side of the stage, along with Sven and Olaf. Sven, the best man, had been brushed and cleaned for by Kristoff himself last night, and he had managed to wrap a bow tie on the seeming stubborn reindeer. Olaf had also put a bow tie on, made of coal, and made sure that not a twig, carrot, or button was out of place. Elsa had let her hair down, and had created a fresh version of her signature ice dress just for the occasion. Already could she feel the wondering eyes of some of the audience on her and not the proceedings.

Looking back down at the ceremony, she could see... something off in the distance, behind Kristoff's mane of "unmanly" blond hair. It was a dark shape that blotted out a patch of the hillside. Elsa ignored it, and tuned back into the wedding right as the minister said "Kristoff Bjorgman, do you take Princess Anna of Arendelle to be your beloved wife?"

"I do" he replied, eyes never wavering from Anna's face. The minster looked over at Anna and spoke: "And do you, Princess Anna, take Kristoff to be your beloved husband?"

"I do" she replied, her eyes lighting up. The minster closed his holy book and said "By the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife." He then gestured to Kristoff. "You may now kiss the bride." Anna and Kristoff embraced, and locked lips. Elsa felt a fleeting emotion that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She clapped along with the audience, but her thoughts were focused on the black shape off in the distance. It stood there unmoving, then promptly turned on a heel and swiftly glided away. Elsa wondered who that was, but was then swept up into her sister's arms as the congregation moved into the castle for the reception.


	4. Book I: Chapter 2

**II**

 **The Reception**

Anna couldn't believe the grand ballroom when she first walked into it. It seemed that her sister had managed to bring an entire meadow, with little trees and birds and grass, into the ballroom. The amount of decorations that Elsa and the staff had stuffed into the place was unbelievable. She turned to Kristoff and tried to say something, but all she could utter was an excited breath. Kristoff had dropped his jaw, and was staring in awe of the entire scene. Off in the corner was an orchestra that waited for the congregation to file in before starting their first piece. The conductor, an old balding man whose goatee was as white as snow, tapped his baton two times, raised it, and then brought it down gently.

Elsa, Sven, and Olaf had caught up to the couple, and they moved themselves off to the side of the room as the orchestra began playing Vivaldi's Spring Movement. Anna waited for them to stop shuffling around before she approached her sister. "This… is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Thank you so much!" she said, and wrapped her arms around her sister. Elsa blushed a little, then sniffed the air.

"Do I smell what I think I smell?" she asked Anna. At that exact moment, two cooks delicately wheeled out a monstrous chocolate cake from a side-room and set it next to the punch table. With a speed Elsa had never before seen, Anna seamlessly weaved her way through the crowd and brought herself before the monster cake. One of the attending chefs sliced off two pieces and handed both to her.

"But I only need one…" she started, and in a flash, Kristoff was at her side. As fast as lightning, he snatched one of the plates out of her hands, took the slice of cake, and shoved it into Anna's mouth. Anna's scolding "Hey!" came out more of _Hummmmppp_. She chewed it, letting the richness of the chocolate sink into her tongue, ignoring the laughter and clapping of the guests. Anna swallowed, then took her piece of cake and thrust it into Kristoff's mouth. He grunted, and the guest cheered even louder.

After he had finished eating the cake, Anna licked the frosting off her lips, and asked her husband: "Why did we do that?" He only shrugged his shoulders and replied with a devilish grin: "No idea. I just saw your cute little face and thought 'Huh, maybe she could be cuter with chocolate frosting smeared on it.'" The audience of the debacle roared with laughter. Kristoff turned towards them and gave a little bow. The orchestra finished up with "Spring" and began playing a song that Anna recognized from memory. It was the song that she had sung a year ago, the afternoon before Elsa's coronation, except there were no words to it.

Without thought, she slipped her high heels off and let her bare feet sink into the cold, accepting grass. He grabbed Kristoff suddenly, and swept him off of his feet. And soon, the couple was waltzing together, dancing almost flawlessly. The guests, noticing that the bride and groom were dancing, forgot their foodstuffs and joined the pair in dancing along with the sweeping, tender chords of Anna's song.

From the refreshment table, Elsa watched her sister come alive on the dance floor, majestically swirling and twirling all over the faux meadow. She was so engrossed in the sight of her happy younger sibling that she did not notice the man stride up and approach her side. Sensing a presence behind her, she turned around and came face-to-face with a young, well-dressed, well-groomed Arabic man in a stunning white dinner jacket. Elsa looked into his eyes and saw… something there, some long-lost emotion. Then it vanished as fast as it had come. The Arabic man cleared his throat and spoke in a gentle baritone: "Excuse me, Your Majesty, but I don't believe we have met. I mean, I know _of_ you, but we haven't exactly, you know, exchanged names-" he stammered, redness slowly creeping into his cheeks.

"Ah, but we must exchange our name, if we are to get married" Elsa said, preparing herself for some lame attempt to win her hand. The Arabic man cleared his throat once more as his cheeks turned bright rose red. He stammered once more: "I have not come to, ah, marry you, Your Majesty. I have no interest in love at the moment. I merely wished to meet with the infamous Snow Queen and have a conversation with her. In private. It is important." he added.

Elsa chuckled. So this was another suitor. "I still didn't catch your name, good sir. You are-"

"King Nuri Yadin of Arat at your service, Your Majesty."

"Well, King Nuri, let us go someplace… colder. It is getting pretty stuffy in here" Elsa said. She left the refreshment table with Nuri in tow. Quietly, she slid the door open, and the two slipped out into the dusk.

When the song was over, Anna and Kristoff sluggishly strode back to the refreshment table and scanned the room for Elsa. There was no sign of her. At this point, Olaf waddled over to the table from his spot underneath a tree, where he had been resting. Anna abruptly grabbed Olaf by his tiny snow shoulders and spun him around.

"Olaf, have you seen Elsa?" she asked. Olaf thought for a few seconds before replying:

"Yeah, she went to get some fresh air. And she was with a man!" he added excitedly.

"Doesn't sound like the Elsa I know" Kristoff said after a brief pause. Anna looked worriedly towards the door. A thought ran through her head:

 _What are you up to, sis?_


	5. Book I: Chapter 3

**III**

 **Phoenix Rising**

Elsa let the cool dusk breeze fill her soul as she drank in the air. Nuri strode beside her, occasionally hurrying to catch up. They left the castle grounds and headed into town. A few people strolling the streets acknowledged Elsa's presence with a hand wave or a short bow. Elsa returned the greetings, and continued walking towards a small stone bridge in the distance. Before long, they had reached the bridge.

This particular bridge was not in good shape. Gnarled ivy wrapped around the sides like a mother clinging to a newborn baby. Several stones were loose or missing in several places, and the entire thing smelt of sour milk and wild animals. Elsa power-walked to the center of the bridge, then abruptly spun on her heel and faced Nuri.

"Well, Your Majesty? What do you have to say?" she asked, a little bit too harshly, false grin plastered on her face. Nuri stumbled over his words once more, turned around and made sure no one was listening, then turned back to Elsa.

The words tumbled out of his mouth: "I can do magic just like you."

Elsa's grin slowly died away. "What did you say?"

Nuri shook his head, and raised an open palm. He snapped his fingers, and a bright orange flame appeared in his hand. Elsa stared at him in disbelief. There _was_ someone else like her out there. Nuri still held the flame as he continued speaking: "When I was born, my father used to tell me that the kings of old prophesied my birth. They called me the _anka'oo,_ a ruler that would take the kingdom and make it better than ever. I was-no, am- supposed to be the best ruler my kingdom has seen" He extinguished the flame by closing his hand

"What does ankle-hoo mean?" Elsa asked him. That strange look appeared in Nuri's eyes again, and once more, it vanished quicker than lightning.

"Phoenix. It means phoenix. And I have tried to make the kingdom better than before. You see, my father was killed seven years ago by a vengeful sorcerer." Nuri looked down at the ground forlornly, examining the moss growing in between the stones. "But that doesn't mean that he didn't deserve it."

"What do you mean?" Elsa asked. Nuri looked back up at her. "My father… well, let's just say, he wasn't exactly the nicest man." It was all spilling out now, like a dam within his mouth had just cracked and finally let go. "And he… well, he took the kingdom by force before I was born. He was very unpopular with the locals. They weren't too keen on being oppressed, and it really didn't help that his skin was just about as pale as yours" Nuri added, pointing to Elsa's arm. He continued with his story. "When he met my mother, he treated her like she was a servant with one purpose: To create a male heir. There was no love between them. I was born, and things spiraled out of control from there." Nuri paused and looked at Elsa. "I'm sorry if this is too personal."

"No, no, continue. I've learned that it's best when you share your feelings" she said, thinking about the years she had spent concealing and not feeling.

"You see, my father had always viewed the people as… filthy, uncultured animals who had no sense of right and wrong. But I saw differently. I sometimes would wander the markets for hours, they were so full of sights and sounds and colors. The people, they all had faces and names and lives that they lived. Father didn't see it like that. He began to oppress them, passing law after law that stole their lives. Suffering turned to fear, fear turned to anger, and finally, that anger turned to hate. At last, they did something. They fought back" he spoke, green eyes beginning to water.

"Oppression turned to full-blown war, and my father turned from racism to genocide. He massacred people where they stood in the streets. And still, Arat fought against him. And then the Sorcerer appeared. He killed my father, and I ascended the throne." He stopped, and looked at Elsa, tears silently rolling down his cheeks. "You don't know what it's like, to walk the streets of your own city and undo the damage that you didn't cause." He bent forwards and starting sobbing an awful, breathless sob. Elsa took him in her arms and gave him a big hug. The two stood there together on the broken bridge, clutching each other in the light of the pale moon. Suddenly, Elsa remembered something that had been on the edge of her mind.

"Oh no" she whispered, and let of Nuri. He wiped his face with his shirtsleeve. "What is it?" he asked cautiously.

"I have to toast my sister!" she replied, and sprinted away, high heels clacking against the cobblestones. Nuri stood there for another minute, then ran after her.


	6. Book I: Chapter 4

**IV**

 **Handful of Dust**

Anna wandered over to the refreshments table, looking for Elsa. It had been twenty minutes since Olaf told her about walking out. And ever since, thoughts had been running through about what she could possibly doing. _Talking to a random boy, it sounds so… unlike her. In fact, it sounds like me last year_. At that thought, she shivered. That man (she wasn't even going to think his name) had been so suave and genuine, and yet…

He broke her heart. She remembered the disbelief she had felt when he spoke those little words, when he exposed himself as a traitor and her worst enemy. And now he was gone, and Kristoff was here, along with Olaf and Sven and her sister. She glanced over at Kristoff, who was entertaining a random party guest with his tales. She sighed gently.

Anna was violently thrown out of her thoughts by the sound of the large doors swinging open. She, along with most of the party guests, turned their heads as Elsa flew through the doors, Nuri following behind closely. She stopped, arms on thighs, panting. After composing herself, she nonchalantly strolled over to the refreshment table and stood next to Anna. Most of the party guests just shrugged their shoulders and went back to their conversations and dancing.

Anna leaned close to her sister and whispered: "Where were you?" Elsa only shook her head. A few seconds later, Nuri walked over. Anna put on her best angry-eyes face and looked at the boy. He looked away after staring into her eyes for a few seconds. Elsa coughed to break the silence, then said:

"Sorry, sis. I was…uh, discussing trade options with King Nuri here." An awkward beat of silence passed, then Nuri cleared his throat. "I don't believe we have met, Princess. I am King-"

"You can skip the introductions, mister. I really don't care" Anna said with her best angry voice. Anything to get this suitor away from Elsa. She stopped, however, when she caught Elsa glaring at her. Anna dropped her head. "I'm sorry, sir" she said. Red began to creep into Nuri's cheeks once more.

"Apology accepted." More awkward silence, then Elsa spoke directly to Anna: "I think it's time for the toast. Shall I?" Anna nodded. Elsa picked up a wine glass and began to tap a spoon lightly on the side of it. All of the conversations slowly died away as Elsa moved some sweets over and stood up on the refreshment table.

"Good evening, everyone. I would like to make a toast to the bride and groom. To Anna and Kristoff. May you two have happiness and love forever." The guests also raised their glasses and said "To Anna and Kristoff!" For good measure, Elsa took a swig of the wine in the glass. She began to announce the orchestra but was cut off suddenly by the sound of the large doors swinging open once more.

 _(Little Fugue in G Minor, J.S. Bach)_

Everybody turned and looked as a hooded man robed in purple stepped into the ballroom. Elsa hopped down from her spot on the table and distinctly heard Nuri whisper "No… Not now." The robed man began to stride towards Elsa and the group at the refreshment table. He spoke in a raspy, malicious voice:

"What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow out of this stony rubbish? Sons and daughters of man, you cannot say, or guess, for you know only a heap of broken images where the sun beats. The dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, and the dry stone no sound of water." He was halfway to Elsa now, who noticed that he was the same color of skin as Nuri. Something clicked within her head

 _It's him. The Sorcerer Nuri talked about_

And she lightly gasped. He smiled a fearsome smile as though he had heard it, and continued with his speech. "However, there is shadow under this red rock. Come under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you different from your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you." He was directly in front of Elsa now, bowing down mockingly. Elsa saw he had reached a hand behind his back. He stood straight and whispered the next words: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust." He thrust his right hand forward and threw a white powder into Elsa's face.

She coughed a little bit, trying to get the white powder out of her face. Then her eyes began to roll up into her head and she fell forwards. The Sorcerer leaned and caught the unconscious queen in his arms. Anna, Nuri, and Kristoff took a second to register what happened and then both lunged at the Sorcerer. Anna saw him move his mouth, and the next thing she knew, she was staring at the ceiling.

Rising, she saw that all of the guest had fallen on the floor. She started for the Sorcerer again, but he raised a hand and spoke: "Don't worry, little princess. Your sister shall be returned to you. In time." He saw Nuri rise and the Sorcerer of Arat turned to him. Nuri was the first to speak.

"You killed my father" he said, barely able to contain the fiery rage within his voice. The Sorcerer's face grew hard.

"No. I saved my country and my people. The monster's sins will not go unpunished. A plague upon your house, Nuri Yadin. May the gods save Arat from anymore of your kind, you filthy half-breed." With a flourish he turned, and within an instant, he and the unconscious Elsa vanished from the ballroom.


	7. Book I: Chapter 5

**WARNING: Remember that in the description, it's rated T for "a scene of torture?" Well, here it is. Read at your own risk.**

* * *

 **V**

 **From Light, Darkness**

She was on the ice lake again, surveying the destruction to Arendelle that she had caused. Around her, the wind screamed in fury as she searched fruitlessly for her sister in a blizzard. She knew not where the guards were, but she didn't care. All she wanted was Anna and for this whole mess to just go away.

This scenario was a recurring nightmare that Elsa had to struggle through night after night. Long nights of waking up with a scream on her lips because she was scared that Anna was frozen once more by her own hand. Or she was afraid that Hans would step out of the shadows, sword gleaming in the moonlight, come to finish off what should've ended on the ice lake.

But this time, the dream changed. As Hans called out to her that her sister was dead, the ice that Elsa was standing upon cracked and gave way, plunging her into the frigid water. As she struggled to reach the surface, she heard a small popping noise. She turned, and came face to face with Anna's severed head. She screamed at the sight, and felt something clutch her ankle. She looked down, and her dead parents were there, tugging at her ankle, eyes gone, clothes rotting, faces falling apart. Her mother smiled viciously, and a centipede lazily crawled out of her mouth and into her nose. Her father's lower jaw fell out and began to float away.

She screamed, but heard nothing, only seeing bubbles float in front of her fading vision. The last thing she saw before blacking out was her sister's head.

* * *

She was lying on her back. Light filled her vision, and then receded. Elsa tried to raise a hand to block the light, but she found that she couldn't move them. She tried her feet, but they wouldn't budge either. As her vision cleared, she found that she couldn't speak either. Somebody had placed a leather mask over her mouth and nose, and all that she could hear when she spoke were muffled grunts.

Off to her right, the Sorcerer leaned into her field of vision. At the sight of his face, she strained every muscle in her body trying to get at his face, but it was to no avail. He grinned malevolently, and talked: "Do you sleep well? I hope you enjoyed the dreams I gave you. I showed you fear in a handful of dust." He then waved his hand. The table she was laying on slowly rotated until she was in a standing position. Her hands were placed in metal manacles. Using her powers, she tried to freeze them solid. The Sorcerer understood what she was doing, because he spoke up:

"The manacles are ice-proofed. I did my homework, Your Majesty." He spat out the title mockingly, and turned his back to her. Elsa could hear clatters as the Sorcerer picked up a tool off of the workbench and brought over to her. It looked like a jar, but it had tubes attached to it. A little tube was actually attached to the Sorcerer's wrist. He explained: "I need your powers, Your Majesty. I'm not exactly going to tell you what it's for because that would spoil all the fun, but to put it bluntly, it's going to be a very painful process. Your condition is a special case, with your magic passed down through the family bloodline for generations. Like I said, I did my research.

Unfortunately, it's going to harder than usual to remove" He sneered, then continued: "Fortunately for the both of us, I'm going to play a little music so I won't have to listen to your pathetic screams." He waved his free hand, and from somewhere in the room, an orchestra instantly began to play sweeping, grand music.

 _(The Ride of the Valkyries, Richard Wagner)_

The Sorcerer thrust his tubed hand forward, straining. At that moment, every nerve in Elsa's body caught fire, and she screamed as loud as she could as the Sorcerer began the process of draining her power, her curse, away from her. Then after a few seconds of terrible agony, she watched a blue mist leak out of her chest and into the Sorcerer's jar. Elsa felt as though a tiny part of her had been stolen. The Sorcerer thrust his hand forward again, and she shrieked, all as of her being leaked out of her like air from a balloon. At last, she could take the pain no longer, and descended back into darkness.

* * *

When she came to the second time, the room was dark. Elsa felt… weak and helpless. Rotating her head, she noticed that her hair had turned from platinum-blond to brown, just like her mother's. She looked down at her arms, and noticed that they were darker than before. She had become… normal. Just like she had always dreamed of, except that this was no dream. This was a nightmare that only continued to spiral deeper into madness.

At that moment, the Sorcerer re-entered the room, still holding the jar of blue mist. Elsa felt yearning for that jar, for what made her special. She wanted all of her back. The Sorcerer set the jar on the floor, and pulled out a small pouch from his back. He reached into the pouch, and pulled out a handful of tiny, black crystals. Muttering incantations, he waved the crystals over the jar, then replaced the pouch and took a step back. Elsa watched as the mist in the jar rapidly changed from blue to black. The jar then exploded, sending glass shards flying everywhere. The black mist floated into the air, then began to solidify into… a human shape.

A woman began to fade into the black mist. A bluish-green ice dress flowed loosely. Her face was a lot like her own, except the eyes were green, not blue, and there was more of a mischievous look to her. But what really defined her was the jet-black hair that shot backwards from her head into one big point. The Sorcerer clapped his hands, and the woman knelt before him.

"Asle?" he asked.

"Yes, Master?" she inquired.

The Sorcerer smiled so coldly that it sent chills running up Elsa's spine. "Rise." Asle stood up from her kneeling position. The Sorcerer walked over to Elsa and removed the mask. She gasped for air, then weakly asked: "Who is that?"

"Why, it's you. It's your evilness, your dark side, embodied in human form. And now can my plans advance. Thank you for your time" the Sorcerer explained, then snapped his fingers. The bonds holding Elsa unlocked, sending her tumbling to the floor. She could barely move, she was so weak. Elsa looked up at the Sorcerer pleadingly. "We will leave... in time. For now, you may want to get used to your new condition" he said. Elsa closed her eyes and lay her head against the cold stone of the floor, praying for salvation.


	8. Book I: Chapter 6

**VI**

 **A Familiar Face**

Anna sat on a lumpy green couch next to Olaf in the grand hall, nervously twiddling her thumbs. It had been two hours since Elsa had been kidnapped by the Sorcerer, and the search parties consisting of volunteer party guests and royal guards had been unable to find her sister. Kristoff, Nuri, and Sven were away, leading a team up the North Mountain in search of the missing queen. Anna had pleaded with him not to go, but after several moments of silence and his eyes staring into hers, she relented. And now, here she was, playing the most dangerous waiting game she had ever dreamed of.

Olaf reached over, and put a reassuring twig on her hand. "It'll be alright, Anna. Elsa's gonna be alright. Or so I think."

"Thanks Olaf" she replied, and patted the snowman's head. Not a second later, Gerda burst in through the door breathless. "Your Majesty, there is… something I think you must see" Anna leapt off of the couch, accidentally knocking over Olaf in the process. She muttered an apology to the snowman, then left the room, Gerda leading the way. They stopped outside of her father's old office. "He wants to see you alone" Gerda told her.

"Gerda, who's 'he'? Is it the Sorcerer?" Anna asked, but Gerda only shook her head and left. Tenderly, she opened the door, walked in the room, and saw him standing on the far side of the room. He was gazing out the window, glass of liquor gently swirling in one hand. It seemed he had not changed from when Anna last saw him, on the boat in the middle of the lake. He turned around at the sound of the door closing, and Prince Hans of the Southern Isles saw her standing there.

 _(Jar of Hearts, Christina Perri_ or _Demons, Imagine Dragons)_

Neither of them spoke for a minute before Anna said something: "How did you get in here?"

Hans took a swig of his drink before answering: "Gate was deserted. Your housekeeper let me in here. I must say, the security here is terrible." Anna only shook her head.

"You do know that the first piece of paper Elsa ever signed as queen was a decree. That specific decree mentions that if you were ever seen again in Arendelle, you were to be executed "for crimes against the Crown" Anna informed him, anger rising in her voice. The nerve he had, waltzing back here as nothing like nothing had happened between them!

He shrugged, and drank some more. Anna could smell the liquor hanging above the room like an axe blade about to fall. Or a sword. Anna ignored it and continued speaking: "Why are you here? I ought to have the guards prepare a cell for you in the dungeons. We fixed it, by the way, after my sister blasted through it." Hans paused about halfway to Anna, then replied. "Two things: First off, congrats on getting married. Turns out I was wrong. There _are_ people out there who love you. Secondly, I know about the Sorcerer, and I may have an idea of why he's here, and what he wants your sister for. Why I'm planning on sharing this information is beyond- no, wait, it isn't. I'm drunk. And thirdly, I want to explain myself. For what happened a year ago."

Anna laughed at the last statement. "Ho ho no, you don't have to explain. It's plain and simple. You tried to kill me and my sister so you could be king. Clear as day. Now spill about the Sorcerer."

She didn't even realize he had thrown the glass until she smelt the liquor, stronger than ever, emanating from the right of her. He started screaming. "NO, IT'S NOT SIMPLE! I JUST WANTED SOMETHING FOR MYSELF FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE! I DIDN'T WANT TO BE JUST SOME NOBODY!" He calmed down, voice still laced with rage. "My family hated me. You should remember all those stories I told you. They were all true. Everybody hated me, and I blamed myself for it all, like it was all my fault. 'Course, I tried to ignore them, and it didn't work. God, I was so happy to leave that hell-hole.

"And then when I found you…, well, I was right. I was searching for my own place to share with somebody, and then, you left me in charge." He turned away as Anna walked closer to him. "You don't understand anything about power. I think your sister does, but you know nothing of what it can do to you. Power is like a sweet poison. You want more and more of it until eventually, it ends up killing you. And that's exactly what happened. I enjoyed ruling. The people actually liked me. Then it got to be too much. When I confronted your sister in her ice castle, that's when all that power, the idea of being king, consumed me."

He stopped, for a moment, then said: "I never wanted to kill you both. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and the other men there, like the Duke of Weaselton, wanted your sister's blood badly. I couldn't simply deny it them. I had to follow through." He sighed, and walked back over to the grand desk on the other side of the room. Anna spoke up: "I'm sorry for you. But what about the Sorcerer? You said-"

"I know what I said. Do you know-" he started, but was cut off by the door opening. Kristoff and Nuri entered the room, the door sliding shut behind them. Kristoff got one good look at Hans before he stormed over to the prince. Anna and Nuri tried to restrain him, but he only brushed off their grasps. Hans held his hands up in defense, but Kristoff squarely closed his right hand around Hans' throat. He started gagging and gasping for air, eyes bulging almost out of their sockets.

"Stop it! Kristoff, honey, stop it!" Anna shrieked. Something connected in Kristoff's rage-filled head, as he let of the prince of the Southern Isles. He clutched his throat, wheezing. Kristoff extended a hand, but Hans waved it away. Kristoff took several steps backwards and stood next to Anna and Nuri.

"I'm sorry" Kristoff said. Hans recomposed himself, then replied, still coughing: "It's okay. I most definitely deserved that. As I was saying earlier, I think that his plans have something to do with the Legend of the North Mountain. Have you heard of it?"

Anna thought for a few seconds before admitting she had never heard of it. Hans shook his head in understanding "It's not a story for children" he told Anna. "I myself heard it in a bar. Kristoff rolled his eyes. Hans continued on. "A long time ago, an ancient demon, whose name has since been forgotten, roamed the lands. Every year, on All Hallow's Eve, this demon would reap the souls of the dead from the land.

"Now, a powerful king, whose name has also been forgotten, had extremely potent magical abilities. This king, along with some of the best sorcerers in the land, managed to imprison the demon in a giant mountain created out of magic. According to this legend, every year on All Hallow's Eve, the angry screams of the demon can be heard to travelers on the North Mountain" he finished. "What I think your sorcerer is trying to do is use Elsa and her powers to 'unlock' the mountain. Every prison has a key. What I still haven't figured out is motive."

A beat of silence passed, then Nuri spoke up.

"This is revenge. He's getting back at me and the damage my father did to his people." Kristoff ignored the young king's remarks and shot a question at Hans:

"Why are you so convinced it's the North Mountain he's after? Why not make it simpler than unleashing an evil demon?"

"It's the only way to explain why Elsa was kidnapped" Hans replied. Anna scoffed at him.

"If you think the Sorcerer can bend my sister of all people to his will-" Hans cut her off with a wave of his hand, straining.

"Ssshh. Listen" he told them. The group fell silent, and after a few seconds, it made itself clear. Instruments were playing in the ballroom below them, the most recognizable sound among them a fiddle.

"But why-" Anna started, but Nuri cut her off "We have to get down there. _Now._ "

"For what?" Kristoff asked. Nuri turned and said:

"This music was playing the night my father died. He is after me." Nuri threw the door open, and sprinted out into the hallway. Anna, Kristoff, and Hans all glanced at each other worriedly, then followed after Nuri.


	9. Book I: Chapter 7

**Note: This chapter and the previous chapter occur at the same time, to clear any confusion.**

* * *

 **VII**

 **Dance of Death**

The Sorcerer picked up Elsa off of the floor, and cradled the weak queen in his arms like a newborn. He motioned for Asle, and she strode over to his side. "Hold tight, little queen. I don't want to lose you in the space-time continuum now." Elsa grabbed a fistful of his cloak while Asle locked her arm within his. He muttered a few words, and they vanished from his lair.

Seconds later, Elsa tumbled out of his arms and onto... grass? She looked up, and realized that the three of them were back in Arendelle, in the grand ballroom. She couldn't believe that hours earlier, she and her sister were having the time of her life. _And once again, I screwed it up_ she thought as she struggled to lift herself into a sitting position. Elsa then felt hands grasp her from behind and lift her up. From the corner of her eye, she saw Asle make something with her ice powers off to the side.

The Sorcerer got Elsa to a standing position, and helped her hobble over to a chair made out of ice. He sat her down, and she recoiled against its cold embrace. She put her head back against the head rest, and closed her eyes, breathing deeply. When she opened them, she noticed that the Sorcerer and Asle had moved to the center of the ballroom. He surveyed his surroundings slowly, then shook his head sadly. "I believe we need a change of setting. Asle?" he said. The dark shadow nodded her head. "As you wish, Master."

Asle stamped her foot on the floor, and Elsa watched in horror as all of the grass was instantly covered with frost. It all slowly withered and died away, turning from green to brown to finally, ice. She smiled smugly. "That's better." The Sorcerer, definitely using some form of balancing magic, glided over to Asle and grabbed her by the waist. Her shocked look turned into one of seduction, but before the reverie could continue, the Sorcerer stopped and frowned. After a few seconds of deep thinking, his face lit up, and he clapped his hands twice. Cracks formed in the floor, breaking the ice, as several skeletal hands reached out and grasped the floor. Elsa looked on as skeletons swarmed out of the cracks and filed into the room. The Sorcerer pointed a finger over to the side of the room, and the twenty or more skeletons moved there in one large congregated mass.

 _(Danse Macabre, Saint Saens)_

They stood two rows of ten like toy soldiers. The Sorcerer clapped his hands once, and instruments magically appeared in their hands. The Sorcerer once more grabbed Alse by the waist as the skeletons began to play softly a tune Elsa had never heard. The Sorcerer and Alse began to waltz around the room, gowns and cloaks flying violently as a solo fiddle kicked in and all hell broke loose. The two dancers had become a whirling dervish of black and blue, dancing at a speed almost incomprehensible to the human eye. Elsa had a hard time keeping up with the pair visually flew about the ballroom, skeletons playing in the background. She wondered why she was watching this ghoulish production.

The music slowed down, and the pair followed suit until they were cuddling each other in their arms. From her spot in the ballroom, Elsa was pretty sure he could hear the Sorcerer whisper loving words to her. Alse nodded and nodded until they looked into each other's eyes. Right as the music came back in with a bang, the two locked lips, and kissed for what felt like an eternity.

At that moment, the ballroom door flew open. Elsa slowly turned in her chair, and saw Nuri burst into the room followed by her sister, Kristoff... and was that Hans? The Sorcerer and Alse broke off from their kissing, and the skeletal orchestra broke off the song in the middle of a chord. The Sorcerer snarled, and grabbed Asle.

"You will all die soon" The Sorcerer said, and the two vanished from the ballroom. The skeletons and the instruments vanished from the room as well. Anna ran over to the frozen chair and saw her. Unable to help herself, Anna blurted out a name that sent daggers into Elsa's heart: "Mom?"

"No, Anna. It's just me" she said, tears beginning to form. Kristoff took one look at the frozen ballroom and suggested that they move her somewhere warm. Anna picked up Elsa, and the group left the frozen room.


	10. Book I: Chapter 8

**VIII**

 **Regroup and Reorganize**

Anna ran through the quiet hallways of the castle with her sister in her arms. Kristoff, Nuri, and Hans followed closely behind, sprinting to keep up with the frantic princess. She found an open doorway off to the side and went in the room. There was a fireplace located on the left side, with a big pair of double windows on the right. In the middle of the room was a big purple-pinkish couch. She stopped and set her sister down upon it. Kristoff entered the room and headed over towards the fireplace. Taking a flint, he started to spark the fireplace before Nuri gestured for him to stand back. Kristoff moved out of the way, puzzled, before Nuri launched a small fireball into the fireplace. It crackled to life, flames dancing off of the windowpanes. Kristoff and Hans stared at him with disbelief. He only shrugged.

Elsa slowly sat up, and asked the one question that had been on her lips: "Why is he here?", cocking a thumb at Hans. Before Anna could say anything, Hans spoke up: "Redemption and forgiveness." At this Elsa shot up. "You think you're going to get any of those things from me? You locked me up, lied to me, and tried to kill me." She started forward towards him, then coughed violently and sank back into the couch. After the coughing abated, she spoke once again: "I have to get my powers back."

Nuri then added: "We have to stop him and this darkspawn he has created." Elsa looked up at him. "Nuri, that darkspawn is _me._ It's my dark side. He took my evilness along with my powers. For what purpose I have no idea." Hans quickly explained his theory of the North Mountain to her, and she only shook her head. "Why would he unleash a demon just to kill Nuri? And how do I know that you're not just making it up on the spot? I mean, why should I trust you? You tried to kill me and my sister, so, why?" she asked him coldly. Before he could reply, the door swung open, and Olaf entered the room. "Guys, I found Elsa! She's on top of the big mountain thing, 'cause she just build a new palace. To tell you the truth, it doesn't look as fun as the old one." Without missing a beat, she look directly at Elsa and asked: "Who's this?"

"That's Elsa. The Sorcerer took her powers" Anna told him. He gasped. "Does that mean that my personal flurry won't work anymore?" he wondered. Anna only shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, Olaf." Hans and Nuri had walked over to the window, trying to look at the top of the mountain. Spotting a desk covered with nautical knick-knacks, Hans reached over and grabbed a spyglass off of the desk. He pressed it to his eye, and searched the top of the mountain. There it was, just like the creepy talking snowman had said. Except it was black instead of blue, and it looked a lot scarier than Elsa's old one Hans had visited.

He passed the spyglass to Nuri, who used it and then passed it to Anna. She gasped at the sight of it, resting on the mountain like mold on bread, the patch of darkness in the meadow of light. She lowered the spyglass and handed it to Olaf, who started fiddling around with it. "We've gotta get up there" she told Kristoff, who was tending to Elsa. "I'm coming with you" Elsa told her. "No sis, you're not. You need to lie down and rest" Anna told her sternly.

"I have to get my powers back, Anna. I'm coming with you" Elsa replied. An uneasy silence settled over the room. Then Anna turned to Kristoff and said. "Honey, I need you to stay here and watch over the kingdom." Kristoff raised his voice to argue, but she cut him off. "I know you're not happy with it, but we need somebody official to run the kingdom, and Nuri will be there to watch our backs." Kristoff opened his mouth, then closed it. "I would've trusted Olaf with it, but-" Anna was cut off by the sound of breaking glass. Everyone looked over at Olaf, who had accidentally dropped the spyglass on the floor. He grinned sheepishly as he tried sweeping the glass under the carpet.

"-And people will trust a new prince more than a snowman, unfortunately" Anna said, as not to hurt Olaf's feelings. Hans looked over at everyone and said: "So, it's settled, then. And I promise, I won't do anything bad. You can trust me."

Anna rolled his eyes at him. "That's what you said last year. Come on. We have to go." Elsa stood up from the couch with wobbly knees. Leaning on her sister, the group of four left the room, heading for the royal stables.


	11. Book I: Chapter 9

**IX**

 **Betrayal**

The Sorcerer sat cross-legged on the floor of the ice palace, meditating. He could sense the group of four slowly trudging up the mountain towards him. _No, it's us_ , he thought as Asle lightly entered the room. She stopped behind him on a tenacious step. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and asked "What's wrong, dear?" Her only response was silence, then suddenly, he felt a light burning in his chest. He looked down and saw a blade sticking out of his chest. But it wasn't any normal blade. It was a blade of ice.

He groped for words, and felt none as Asle twisted the handle. His legs turned traitor, let go, and he collapsed onto the cold floor. He raised a hand to cast a healing spell and tried to mutter the incantation. Asle caught him in the act and stomped her stiletto heeled shoes into his wrist. The dry snap of several bones filled the room along with his squealing scream. He looked up at the woman who had killed him, and breathlessly whispered one word: "Why?" She smiled and looked down at him. "You raised me like cattle, a lamb for the slaughter. My chains are broken now. I am finished playing the worthless servant, doing your bidding without question." The Sorcerer wheezed, then said:

"I... created you. Without me, you would... not exist."

Alse grinned, a malevolent smile that stretched her face into a sinister mask. "No, you _stole_ me. I was conceived by Elsa fourteen years before you came along and ripped me out. I was the sister she never knew she had, growing inside of her like her child. Now that you have brought me into this world, I am now my own person. I will be no one's puppet. Certainly not yours.

 _"Requiescat in pace... Master_. I hope Hell is colder than your tomb" she said, gesturing to the room. Asle swept her cape and left, leaving the Sorcerer of Arat to die alone on the cold floor.

His thoughts came slow and choppy. _No... no... not yet. Not before... this is done. I will kill... the half-breed and his... little band of friends. I will win._ He reached into the folds of his robes and and shakily pulled out a book. Flipping through it, blood spattering on the pages, he found a section marked: POSSESSIONS. He smiled, and spread out as his vision faded to black.

* * *

Elsa could feel something in the air as she, Anna, Nuri, and Hans proceeded up the mountain on horseback. It was almost a dark cloud of... what? That, Elsa could not say. She was riding pillion on the back of Anna's horse with Nuri in the front of them and Hans leading the entire group. He remembered the path very well and was mentally flashing back to when he had last tread this course.

 _I was with the volunteers who had come to help me. This is where I lost my way, and was consumed by the power. Perhaps the demon had something to do with it?_ He quickly glanced back at the two sisters riding together, and looked straight again. He felt a surge of unexpected anger rise in his stomach, and kept it down. _I can feel their mistrust. Why should they mistrust me? A person can change in a year, and I have. I only want their forgiveness, and that's all. No castle, no kingdom, no wife. Just... the chance to say sorry._

 _(Duel of the Fates, John Williams)_

He was pulled out of his thoughts when they reached a flat section of the mountain. There was a staircase made of solid black ice, and at the top of it stood Asle. The four exchanged nervous glances, and dismounted their steeds. They whinnied violently, and ran back down the mountain. Anna raised her hand to stop them, but they never looked back as they charged down the hill. "That's the second time that's happened to me!" she said. Even in her weakened state, Elsa smirked a little bit. The group stood there at the foot of the staircase, and looked up as Alse began to speak:

"Master is in the castle, making final preparations for his show. He wishes not to be disturbed, so he is not taking visitors right now." The lie came off easy from her lips. The four nodded to each other, and shot more nervous looks. Asle continued: "So, I ask you to turn back. _Now."_ Hans stepped forwards and spoke: "We will not. Your master plans to destroy us all, and let's just say that we're exactly okay with that." Asle frowned. "So be it."

She leapt off of the top of the stairs and landed at the foot, directly in the front of the group, ice emanating from every pore. She swung a sword made of ice directly at Hans, who rolled out of the way and threw a sword to Anna. She barely caught it, and watched as Nuri launched a fireball at Asle. It missed, and Alse charged at Nuri, only to be stopped by Anna's sword. In the back of her mind, she silently thanked all those hours of swordplay training. Elsa grabbed Asle's shoulder, but was knocked aside.

Nuri and Hans ascended the ice stairs quickly. When they reached the top, Hans called out to the sisters: "We'll deal with the Sorcerer!"

"Okay!" Anna replied, and swung again at Asle. She caught the blade, and the two fought each other, swords glinting in the dying sunlight. Elsa unsheathed her own sword and joined her sister in the fray. Asle kicked aside Anna and charged after Elsa. And so the battle continued like this, Asle switching between sisters until Anna lowered Asle's guard. Using all of her might, she brought a fist straight into Asle's face, launching her backwards into a bank of snow, apparently out cold.

The two sisters hugged. "Wow! That was... awesome! And yet completely scary at the same time!" Anna said, hugging Elsa even tighter. Elsa noticed a flicker of movement behind Anna. "NO!" she screamed, and threw Anna to the side just as Asle cast some magic. Anna hit the ground and watched as a shard of magical ice pierced through her sister's heart.

 _(Padme's Ruminations, John Williams)_

Elsa clutched her chest, wobbled unsteadily, gasped, then collasped down in the snow. Asle watched, emotionless, as Anna ran over to her fallen sister, screaming "ELSA!" She knelt down at her sister's side, tears starting to form in her eyes. "A...Anna?" Elsa whispered. "I... I feel-"

"What?..." Anna asked.

"I feel...cold?" Elsa said, hitching in a breath, then let it go as Anna stared into her sister's now lifeless eyes. Anna let out an inhuman scream of pain and sadness as she clutched her dead sister close to her chest, crying.


	12. Book I: Chapter 10

**Note: This chapter and the previous chapter take place at the same time, to avoid any confusion.**

* * *

 **X**

 **Awakening**

Hans and Nuri arrived at the door of the ice palace, where they slowed to a halt. They glanced at each other wordlessly, then threw their shoulders into the icy door. It splintered open with a resounding crack. They entered the main room, treading carefully as not to step on any sharp shards of ice. Hans gasped suddenly at the sight of it. It was an exact copy of Elsa's old ice palace, complete with the fountain in the middle of the room. Except this time, everything was all black. And lying in the middle of the floor was the Sorcerer, surrounded in a pool of blood, dead.

Hans walked forwards, but was stopped by Nuri's outstretched arm. "Careful" he said. "This place could be a trap." Hans nodded, and proceeded towards the body with extreme caution. Nuri examined the surroundings and looked around the castle. "Amazing..." he muttered. An entire castle made out of ice? This was unimaginable. Hans bent down over the Sorcerer's body, and turned him over. His face was frozen in an eternal smile, as if someone had told him some good news right as he had died. There was a large bulge in the folds of his robes. He reached into the robes, and felt something loose. Hans bent down even further, and felt a hand clamp around his. He looked at the Sorcerer's face, and it was alight with malice, red ruby eyes twinkling in their sockets.

Hans, against better judgement, screamed, and then it was gone. The Sorcerer's face returned back to normal, all-knowing smile as Nuri came rushing over from his deep examination of a frozen fresco. Nuri looked down at the dead Sorcerer and felt nothing inside. His father's murderer was dead, but there was no happiness, no joy. He did not know why, but before he could slide any deeper into thought, Hans held up a large book. "I found this in his robes. I think he was going to use it."

"Yes, but the real question is why is dead? Who killed him?" Nuri wondered aloud. After a second, he realized the answer: "The only person with him." Hans looked at him with mouth wide open. "You think the dark Elsa did this. Why, though?" Nuri thought some more, then said: "What's the one defining character trait of Elsa that everybody notices?" Hans thought about it for a minute, then said: "Independence. You think he was killed because-"

"She was tired of playing the good little maid. Makes sense. But why kill him before the ritual was going to be completed?" At this Hans had opened the book, and was flipping through pages of it to a bookmarked section. Suddenly, the floor beneath them began to rumble violently. Cracks appeared in the walls, and bugs of all kind spilled out of them in a flood. Hans once more screamed, and Nuri began to blast at them with large, crowd-clearing fireballs. A few moments later, cracks appeared in the floor, swallowing the Sorcerer's body into a crevasse.

Hans let go of the book and it hit the floor with a dull thud. Nuri looked down and saw that it had opened to a page titled "POSSESSIONS" The text was unreadable, but the diagram was clear enough. It showed a dead man lying in a pool of blood as multi-colored mists swirled around him. Nuri looked up from the book, and saw that the Sorcerer's body had returned. The cracks in the walls had faded and healed. Looking back down at the book, Nuri realized that The Sorcerer's body was in the exact same position was the man in the diagram was.

 _(A Night on Bald Mountain, Modest Mussorgsky)_

"He did finish it. He found an alternate option." As Nuri spoke these words, the Sorcerer's body was lifted off of the ground several feet. It twisted and withered in mid-air, where a spectacle of lights surrounded and smothered his body. Wings grew out of the back, and horns out of the top of his head. The Sorcerer grew ten times in size, and his entire body turned gray, save for his eyes. When he opened them, they were bright yellow. The thing that had been the Sorcerer stared down at the two men cowering below it. It chuckled, a low, fearsome sound that sent chills down the back of Nuri's spine.

"I have become more powerful that you could possibly imagine, half-breed. Prepare to taste the vengeance of my people!" it roared, and the demon waved its hand. Deep cracks appeared once more in the floor, seperating Hans from Nuri. Hans backed away slowly from the deepening edge, and then slipped on the floor. He slid towards the edge, hands groping for purchase before he was scooped up by the demon. The demon regarded Hans slowly as a pit of fire was created beneath the former prince.

"I do not fear death, monster." Hans said, whipping out a pre-loaded crossbow from a holster and shot the demon in the face. It roared as the bolt found its mark in its eye. The demon's other hand clutched its face, trying to work the crossbow bolt from its eye. Hans turned around to Nuri and said "If you get out of this, tell the girls, 'I'm sorry'."

The demon, enraged, dropped Hans from its hand. He fell into the pit of fire without a sound. Nuri cried out, but was silenced by the roars of the demon. Nuri turned around and ran out of the palace's doors as it began to melt from the extreme heat. There was a large splintering sound from behind him. Nuri turned and watched the demon bust out of the roof of the ice palace, which promptly collapsed in on itself. The two locked eyes for a moment, and then the demon roared so loud that Nuri had to cover his ears. The demon then flew to the very peak of the mountain, where it lay in wait, its eyes locked on the rising moon. Soon. Very soon. Then he would be unstoppable.


	13. Book I: Chapter 11

**FYI: In a little nod to Disney, the Demon of the North Mountain is actually Chernabog from Fantasia. ** **Just a heads up**

* * *

 **XI**

 **From the Ashes**

Kristoff felt unease as he paced in a small room of the castle. First off, he didn't like being in charge of the place. _Sure, I may now be a prince, but I'm no ruler! Just your average Joe who happened to get married to a princess..._ Secondly, that traitor was with them, and Kristoff was even more afraid of what he could be conspiring behind their backs. _If that man tries to harm Anna or Elsa, there's going to be a lot to answer for._ And finally, he was scared for their safety. _Last time my wife tried to scale the North Mountain, she just about killed herself._ He was tugged out of his thoughts by the door opening as Sven and Olaf entered the room. Sven looked over at his best friend and snorted.

"Yeah, Sven, I'm worried about them. I'm scared that something terrible has happened." He looked out the window at the North Mountain just as something loud shook the windowpanes and knocked books of the shelves. Kristoff jumped back several feet and clonked his head on the far wall. He rushed back to the window, and looked out in the town below. People were poking their heads out of doors and windows, looking up at the North Mountain. Kristoff looked up as well, and saw that the peak of the mountain appeared to glow red and yellow. From somewhere below, a woman screamed and baby cried.

Kristoff looked at his friends. "I guess I'm going to have to make a speech. Calm the town." He sighed. "Great." he said. Sven nodded in agreement, and Olaf, readjusting his body parts, agreed. He left the room, followed by a reindeer and a snowman, heading for the front entrance of the castle. On the way out, an odd thought crossed Kristoff's mind that caused him to laugh mentally.

 _Of all the people I've could've gotten married to..._

* * *

Anna did not know how much time had passed since her sister had stopped breathing, but it did not matter. All she wanted was to be with Elsa, and that's exactly where Anna was, holding her dead sister in her arms. Asle had not moved since committing the deed, but it did not matter. The minutes had slowed, and the only thing left was her sister's body and her. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Anna spoke, choking on sobs: "You... monster... I loved... her. Why? Why?" Asle only stood there, unmoving, silent. Anna took one glance at her sister's killer and felt hot rage boil in her stomach. She couldn't hold it back any longer: "ANSWER ME!" she screamed. Asle said nothing.

 _(Battle of the Heroes, John Williams)_

Anna snatched up her sword from where it had lain. She pointed it at Asle, tears streaming down her face. "I am going to kill you. You will pay for you who have stolen from me!" Asle finally spoke: "You can try." They stood there, staring at each other for a long time. Then Anna charged. Asle swiftly blocked the attack, and the battle began once more in earnest. Anna put all of her strength into every blow, and yet, for every rage-inducted attack Anna threw at her sister's murderer, Asle had a response. The battle finished almost as swiftly as it has begun. Asle lowered Anna's guard and backhanded her. Anna landed next to her sister. Asle sheathed her sword, then stood there.

Anna looked back at her sister's corspe, and noticed something. The shard of ice stuck in her sister's chest had begun to shrink, almost until it was invisible. And her hair... her hair was turning blonde. Anna leaned over her sister's body and whispered "Elsa?" At this, Elsa, Queen of Arendelle, opened her eyes, and gasped, coughing. Anna hugged her as she leaned forwards in a sitting position. "Oh gods, Elsa, I was so scared. I thought I lost you." Asle stood there, jaw dropped. "But, how-"

Elsa stood up, strength regained. "This heart will forever be frozen, just a little bit. Even when people try to steal it or defrost it, there will be a piece of me that cannot be taken. And now, I understand." She extended her arms towards Asle. "Come. You are me, and I am you. We are one and the same. And remember, there is someone who loves you. Me." Gingerly, Asle walked towards her counterpart, and the two embraced. Asle looked up at Elsa one last time before turning back into a black mist. The mist entered Elsa's chest, and Elsa shuddered. "Let's hope that _never_ happens again" she said. The two sisters embraced once more, but the picturesque reunion was interrupted by a deafening roar.

Elsa looked up to see a large gray demon at the peak of the mountain. It looked as though he were conducting some symphony of Hell as fires rose all around him. Anna tugged on her sleeve, and she watched as Nuri ran down the slippery stairs, breathless. "Where's Hans?" Anna asked. Nuri took in a deep breath, then replied: "He was... killed by the demon. He saved me. And he wanted to tell you two something." He paused. "What?" Elsa asked.

"He wanted to say he was sorry, and asked for forgiveness" Nuri said. Silence descended over the group, only to broken by another roar. "Somebody has to something about that" Anna said. She looked at Nuri and her sister. "Does anybody know how to kill a demon?" Elsa only shook her head, but stopped and watched the orange sun rise over the horizon. There was something beautiful in the sunrise, Elsa thought, and suddenly, she could not help herself.

 _(Ave Maria, Franz Schubert)_

She started to sing a song she remembered well from church. The demon stopped his work, and stared down at the Snow Queen. After a minute, Anna joined in, and finally, Nuri himself, singing in an tenor voice as the sun rose ever-so higher and higher. The demon shrieked an ear-piercing wail, and enveloped himself in his own wings. The Demon of the North Mountain _became_ the North Mountain, leaving only Anna, Elsa, and Nuri to watch the sun rise on the town below.


	14. Book I: Chapter 12

**XII**

 **Peace...**

After the demon had vanished back into the North Mountain, Anna, Elsa, and Nuri were left there, watching the breathtaking sun continue to rise. After some silence, Anna spoke up: "So... how are we going to get back down?" Almost exactly as she spoke her words, there was a terrific noise from their left. The entire group turned around and saw Kristoff and Sven pull up hurriedly with a a large sled in tow. Anna noticed that was the sleigh he had gotten for his promotion to Royal Ice Harvester. He jumped off of Sven, and rushed over to Anna. They embraced in a hug, as Elsa and Nuri stood there awkwardly. Anna pulled out of the hug, and the two kissed. After a second, she look up at him with a question on her face. "Who's..." Her face fell.

"Aw no... Tell me... Tell me you didn't leave Olaf in charge" she said. Kristoff looked down at his feet, silent. "Umm... I'm sure he'll do fine?" Anna only sighed and shook her head. "I gave a speech, and told the people to calm down, and that Queen Elsa had the situation under control." He looked directly at Elsa. "You did have the situation under control, right?"

"Sure. Yeah. Look, we should probably get back before Olaf does anything too... ditzy" Elsa said. Kristoff helped Anna on the back of Sven as Elsa and Nuri climbed in the back of the sleigh. Looking back at the two in the sleigh, Kristoff spoke up: "Where's Hans?" Elsa and Nuri exchanged glances before Elsa replied: "He sacrificed himself. He saved Nuri." Kristoff looked as though he had chewed on a lemon. Finally, he said: "Good riddance." Anna lightly punched him in the arm. "Be nice" she told him. He sighed, rolled his eyes, and patted Sven on the side. Snorting, the reindeer took off, abruptly pulling the sleigh behind him. Elsa and Nuri were jerked backwards. Elsa brushed her hair out of her eyes and looked at Nuri. He smiled brightly. She giggled like a little girl, then felt red creeping in her cheeks. He chuckled. "I'm not the embarrassed one this time, Your Majesty."

Elsa laughed as the sleigh descended the mountain.

* * *

By the time they had gotten back, the sun had risen high in the sky. As they passed through the village, several townspeople caught a glimpse of the Royal Family and the King of Arat. They began clapping and cheering as they past. Elsa waved a hand, and so did Anna. After several minutes, they arrived at the main gate. Anna hopped off as Nuri helped Elsa out. They entered the main gates, and found Olaf. "Hey guys! You're back! And Elsa! You're back! And you don't look weird! Elsa blushed. "Thanks Olaf" she said. The entire group went inside the castle. The servants swarmed over Elsa, checking to make sure that she was okay. She brushed them off with waves of her hands. They bowed, and took their leave.

The four of them sat down, Anna and Kristoff snuggling together, Elsa and Nuri across from one another. "Peace" Elsa said, and leaned back in her chair, stretching. "Oh thank heavens."

* * *

Later that night, the four plus Olaf and Sven were together in the living room. Elsa looked out the darkened window as everyone else was laughing at a joke Olaf had made, and abruptly stood up. "Excuse me, but I think I'm going to bed. I haven't slept for a day and a half." She strode from the room. After a few minutes of walking, she found her bedroom door, opened it, and walked inside. Her eyes adjusted to the unusual darkness, and gasped at she saw. In the back corner of the room stood a disheveled man, dirty and beat-up. His suit was covered in soot, and his red hair looked akin to a bird's nest. His back was to her, but Elsa didn't need a face to know who it was. The man turned around, and Prince Hans of the Southern Isles smiled.

"Now I know that the old expression is true. People can go through Hell and back. _All for you_." He hissed. Hans slowly raised his right arm, and to Elsa's horror saw that he held a loaded crossbow. "Long live the queen" he croaked. Elsa raised her arms, as if it would deflect the shot. She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. It never came. Gingerly, she opened her eyes, and saw a sheet of thick ice poke out of the ground in front of her. The pommel had gotten stuck in it. Hans' eyes narrowed to slits. Dropping the crossbow, he crazily lunged at Elsa and grabbed her by the throat. As he began squeezing, darkness started to creep into her vision.

In a last-ditch effort to save her life, Elsa aimed her hand at Han's head and fired an ice blast. He let go of her throat, and Elsa stumbled over to her dresser, clutching her throat, gasping for air. She used the dresser to steady herself, still coughing, when she noticed a letter opener sitting on top of it. Hans came back for another lunge, roaring with anger. Elsa grabbed the letter opener, prayed her aim was true, spun around on her heel, and thew the letter opener. It struck him in the throat, causing warm, sticky blood to squirt on Elsa's face.

He was the one now clutching his throat as blood poured out of it in a geyser. Elsa, panting hard, watched as her attacker collapsed to the floor. _Gods, there's blood everywhere!_ she thought. There was a pounding at the door as Anna, Kristoff, and several guards bust in to witness the carnage. Anna took one look at the dying Hans, shrieked, and clung onto Kristoff. Kristoff only stared at the body. After a minute, Elsa spoke up: "Don't just stand there. Do something!" The guards left the room, leaving only Anna, Kristoff and Elsa in the bedroom. Elsa carefully stepped around the body, and headed for the bathroom.

The three of them were back in the living room. Anna explaned the situation to Nuri, whose face had gone pale. Kristoff spoke up: "I thought you said he was-"

" I did say that said that Hans was dead. I saw the man get dropped into a pit of fire for goodness' sake! Of course I thought he was dead!" Nuri exasperated. Elsa spoke up "It explains what he said" Elsa muttered. Anna looked up. "What did he say?" she asked. "He said that he had actually gone through Hell and back. For me." Silence descended once more over the group. Then Anna spoke: "I thought he had changed. Instead, he tries killing you the first chance he got!" Elsa looked at her little sister. "I think he did change. If what... he said was true, and he had actually went through Hell, wouldn't you think that would change a person?"

Kristoff and the others thought about it. Outside, the wind howled, and Elsa was sure that she could hear the Demon howling along with it.

* * *

Nuri left the next evening, sailing back to Arat. He waved to Elsa and the others goodbye from the gangplank. His face changed just before the anchor was hoisted. "Wait!" he called out to the captain, and rushed down the gangplank. He grabbed Elsa's arm, and pulled her ear close to him. "Thank you. For everything." he whispered. "I do love you." They embraced. "You are a good man, Nuri Yadin. I love you too." she told him, and lightly kissed him on the cheek. He blushed, and ran back up the gangplank. The four stood there and watched the boat disappear over the horizon and into the slowly sinking orange sun.


	15. Book I: Epilogue

**Epilogue:**

 **Fire**

 _(The Emperor's Theme, John Williams)_

 _I wait here, in this prison, burning in the flames of a thousand suns._

 _These walls cannot hold me for longer._

 _Now, with the combined power of my Sorcerer host, I could crush these barriers with a mere swipe of my hand._

 _But I choose not too._

 _Across continents, I feel the beginning stirs of evil, cruel men making cruel plans._

 _Let me wait and bide my time. I shall come again with a storm of darkness. And soon, no one will forget my name._

 _THE END_


	16. Book II: Prologue

_**BOOK II:**_

 _ **Targets**_

 _Well, I never really thought that you'd come tonight_

 _While the crown hangs heavy on either side_

 _Give me one last kiss while we're far too young to die_

 _Far too young to die._

 **Panic! At The Disco**

 _I remember black skies, the lightning all around me..._

 **Linkin Park**

 _Fair is foul, and foul is fair._

 **Macbeth, Act I, Scene I**

* * *

 **Prologue:**

 **A Dark Deal**

 _(Zam the Assassin, John Williams)_

In the shadows of a darkened meeting room, the fate of Queen Elsa of Arendelle was being sealed. Two figures dressed in robes and metal armor stood in front of a man cloaked in darkness. This man of shadow was sitting down in a small wooden chair, in which he shifted about uncomfortably. He had finished speaking to the two in front of him.

"So will you do this job? I have given all the information I know of. There's bound to be an element of randomness to this mission-"

One of the figures, a big, burly man with a thick, greasy mane of hair, spoke. "I do not mind that. We are prepared for any situation conceived. This shall be a clean job, I give you that." The shadow-man wagged a finger. "Don't sound so sure of yourself, good sir. She has ice powers, and a sister who would give anything for her. This 'clean job' could be anything but that."

The man smiled a fearsome grin. "I am a professional. So is she" he said, gesturing to the other figure. The woman spoke up, a hint of a smirk on her lips: "I am. Sir, I have seen things and done things that would give you nightmares." There was a beat of silence between the three, then the darkness spoke up: "So. It is settled then, is it not? Fifty thousand coins for her head, double the reward if you bring the sister's as well." The man contemplated this for a moment before replying: "You really must want these people dead. What they did to you?" The shadow only waved his hand. "It is no matter. I just want this done. You are excused."

The two figures standing bowed before the darkness, turned around, and strode out of the room. The shadow waited for the door to fall shut before cackling loudly. Finally, the child was going to pay for interfering with his plans. Finally, vengeance would be his.


	17. Book II: Chapter 1

**I**

 **A Day of Mourning**

The Arendelle royal chapel was deserted at on a crisp, dark winter morning, save for one figure. Elsa knelt down at the altar, head bowed, hands clasped in prayer. Tears were silently rolling down her cheeks. Today... today was the day her parents left and never came back. She remember how it was when the servants had knocked on her door and told her the news. She remembered the flurries that came with the news. She had been practicing her powers, waiting for them to get back so she could prove to them that, yes, she didn't need the gloves, and only then she could normal again.

The news had shattered all of that. She had lost control of her powers, she recalled, tears streaming down her face like a waterfall now. Her bedroom had completely frozen then. Any attempts she had made at defrosting it failed until the Great Thaw, when everything fell back into place. She unclasped her hands, steadying herself against the base of the altar as she sobbed hard and loud. Her cries were so loud it drowned out the footsteps behind her. Vision blurring, she wiped her snotty nose with the back of her icy sleeve, then stopped and turned around as someone put his hand on her shoulder.

It was Nuri Yadin, former king of Arat. He had arrived last night on a small frigate with a few meager belongings. Arat had exploded into revolt, and had stormed the castle. Nuri had barely escaped with his life. "I'd never seen anything like it" he had told the royal family, after Elsa had poured him a strong drink. "I thought I was good to these people. I treated them right. But the sins of the father..." He never finished his sentence, and instead chose to down his liquor in one drawn-out swallow.

Kristoff had frowned at the news of the revolution, but Anna, ever cheerful, spoke up: "We have a guest bedroom nobody's used in forever. I'll send somebody to clean it up. I can show you it." He had bowed, and followed Anna up the flight of stairs.

Dragged back into the present, Elsa looked up into his puzzled face. "What are you doing here at this hour, milady?" He noticed her water-streaked face, and his expression softened. "Are you alright, Elsa?" She shook her head no, and started to feel her eyes water again. "This... this is day my... p-p-parents-" She didn't even finish the sentence before breaking out into a fresh round of sobbing. Shushing her gently, Nuri grabbed her by the waist, and began to rock her gently in her arms. And there they stood, as time slowed, cradling one another, two broken souls in search of happiness.

After a minute, Nuri let go and placed a finger upon her lips. "We best get back to our beds, before somebody notices we're gone." He snickered a little bit at the thought. Elsa caught onto the joke. "Yeah, and they send half of the town looking for us." They both giggled insanely, and quietly, the two tiptoed out of the royal chapel.

* * *

A few hours later, Elsa awoke to the sound of someone beating upon her bedroom door. She got out of bed, strode to the door, and opened it. It was Anna, dressed all in black, staring at her intensely. "Are you ready?" Anna asked. Elsa nodded solemnly. The two held hands, and walked down the hall. On the way, they met Olaf and Sven, skulking around near the stairs. Olaf gazed up at the two sisters. "Man, this is going to be sad" he told Sven. The reindeer grunted in agreement and the two followed Anna and Elsa down the stairs and outside. Kristoff and Nuri were standing by the main gate, Kristoff adjusting his bowtie as though it were a hangman's noose and Nuri glancing all around. Kristoff stopped and watched as Anna walked up to him, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Kristoff quickly embraced her as she started sobbing. Water began to leak into his jacket and onto his undershirt. He combed his hand through her hair with a gentle grace.

 _(Funeral March Sonata No. 2 in B Flat Minor. Op 35, Frederic Chopin)_

Anna stopped and looked up at him with big wet eyes. They kissed, and Elsa couldn't help but roll her eyes. Just then, Elsa heard a soft prancing of hooves outside on the cobblestones. She cleared her throat, and everybody looked at her. "I believe the carriage has arrived." The group of six walked outside the gate, and Elsa bunched up as she was hit with a gust of strong wind. It seemed that the weather had picked up immensely, probably due to her emotional state. Standing outside the castle was a massive black carriage. Two cloaked drivers, oblivious to the weather, sat on top and commanded a team of four horses. The men helped the women enter the carriage, and then got in themselves, and shut the door. The two drivers cracked the team into action, and the carriage started forward. Olaf climbed onto Sven's back, and followed the carriage to its destination: the graveyard.

* * *

After an hour of silence, Nuri felt the carriage begin to slow. After a few seconds, it completely stopped. Anna peered out the window and shook her head. They were here. The drivers opened the doors quickly and let the four out. Behind the carriage, Olaf dismounted Sven and waddled into the group. The drivers nodded wordlessly, and suddenly, Elsa was filled with a cold fear. She hadn't visited her parents' graves until after the Great Thaw, and for that, she felt terrible. Swallowing her fear, Elsa forced her legs to walk towards the two large stones at the far side of the graveyard. Anna caught up to her, and the others soon after that. And finally, Elsa found herself standing in front of her parents' graves. The stones were inscribed: _King Adgar and Queen Idun. May they forever rest in peace_ in the old tongues. Elsa and Anna knelt down, and Anna produced a bouquet of flowers from her clothes. She lay them on the ground, and began crying again. Elsa put her arm around her, and joined in.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the royal family, the carriage had not gone far. After releasing the royal family into the graveyard, it had seemingly driven back to the castle. It now stood on a hill about a hundred feet from the graveyard. Standing on top of it were two figures in cloaks. One threw off his hood, revealing a mane of thick, greasy black hair. His companion, a woman with hair the color of earth, stood next to him. Dahmin Voss, the legendary assassin, gestured towards her. "Our client has nothing to fear. This will be easy." His companion, Zola Martier, she of the thousand nightmares, nodded. "It is a good plan, Dahmin. Did you bring your-"

"Of course I brought it. I'm not THAT stupid" he replied, unslinging his specially-made crossbow. His crossbow was special because it had a miniature spyglass attached to the top, allowing Dahmin to make precise shots. Like the one he was about to make at the Queen's head. He leveled the crossbow, and trained it on the Snow Queen's kneeling head. He steadied himself, took in a deep breath, and pulled the trigger.


	18. Book II: Chapter 2

**II**

 **Protecting the Queen**

Elsa did not know something was wrong until she heard an arrow whizz by her head, slicing the air near her right ear. She turned and saw the pommel drive itself deep into Olaf's midsection. The snowman flew backwards, and Anna let loose a scream as another arrow cut through the air, striking one of the tombstone markers. Elsa tried to cry out, but was knocked off her feet and smothered by Nuri, who tackled her to the ground and covered her. Kristoff grabbed Anna's arm and took cover behind the large stones. Sven rolled Olaf out of the way, who was trying to unlodge the arrow in his chest, and then dragged Elsa and Nuri behind the other stone.

Olaf was still fiddling with the arrow stuck in him. "Oh look. I've been impaled. Again" he said as he pushed the arrow in one way, then the other. Kristoff looked over at the magical snowman and stared. "Don't you feel anything?" he asked. Olaf looked at him dumb-struck. "Nope!" he replied, and finally got the arrow out of him. Nuri peered over the side of the stone. "I think it stopped." He looked over at Elsa. "Why do you think they were trying to kill you? I mean, I think they were trying to aim for you, considering it hit Olaf." At this, the snowman piped up. "I'm okay guys, really!" A ghost of a grin touched his lips. Elsa mentally ran through a list of people in her head. "I can't think of anybody who would want to... kill me. The townspeople actually like me, and I can't think of anyone else. Not off the top of my head."

Just then, as almost on cue, the carriage pulled up. Anna ran out to it, nearly in hysterics, and threw open the door. The others followed her, and Olaf and Sven followed the carriage as it tore away from the graveyard.

* * *

On the front of the carriage, Dahmin was cursing under his breath. How could he have missed? He had her in his sights, and everything. Could it have been the wind? Now that he thought about it more, the wind had definitely picked up more. Yes, that was most likely the answer. Zola sat next to him, silent, unmoving. Her mind was going through the motions, trying to figure out new plans. They had both agreed not to kill them in a head-on assault in the carriage because the two men could easily overpower them. No, they needed to be more cunning.

They both were broken out of their thoughts by the fact that they had arrived back at the castle gates. They let their frightened passengers out and drove away. As they entered the town, driving past townpeople going about their business, Zola spoke up: "Did you notice how large the ledges are on the castle?" Dahmin pondered the statement for a the moment, then replied. "What do you mean?" he asked. "I could sneak through the queen's bedroom window. It's pretty big. And I'm pretty good at climbing. Remember Corona?"

"Yes, but Ryder still got away" he told her, thinking of the good old days. "That wasn't my fault! It was his psycho blonde girlfriend with the frying pan! He was such a charmer, though..." she replied, a dreamy look on her face. He lightly punched her in the arm. "Focus. It's risky, but it's worth a shot. Let's wait until nightfall." Dahmin looked down at the carriage. "We have to ditch this." He ducked the carriage into an alley, and the two assassins jumped off. They took off their cloaks and threw them into the back of the carriage. They were wearing peasant dresses over their armor, and they blended into the crowds heading towards the castle.

* * *

 _Later that night..._

The royal family was sitting in the living room, the only noise the sound of the roaring fire. "Why do you think somebody would be trying to kill you?" Nuri asked. Anna thought about it, then said: "Possibly to rule. That's what... _he_ wanted to do." In the back of her mind, she could picture him, lying on the floor of Elsa's bedroom, his neck gushing bright red, her sister splattered in it. Elsa thought about it, then agreed. "Who, though, is completely beyond me." She stood up. "I think I'm going to bed. It's been a long day." She left the living room, walked up the stairs, and headed down the hallway for her bedroom. She opened the door, slipped into her nightgown, and fell asleep almost instantly.

Back in the living room, Nuri and Kristoff were talking. "I've posted extra guards to protect the queen. No assassins would try the front gates" Kristoff told him. Nuri shifted uneasily in his seat. "Something doesn't feel right. Call me paranoid, but something's off. It's too quiet." He, along with Anna, rushed upstairs towards Elsa's bedroom.

* * *

Zola clutched the window-latch in one hand, and a dagger in the other. She was so far up now that she didn't want to think about falling off. Slowly sliding open the window-latch, she stuck one foot off of the ledge and onto the floor. Slowly, she shut the door, and quietly tiptoed over to the Queen's bed. And there she lay, still, unmoving, completely unaware of the spectre of death hanging above her. Just as Zola raised the knife, the door flew open, and there stood two figures in the doorway.


	19. Book II: Chapter 3

**III**

 **The Chase**

Anna took one glance at the figure hovering above her sister with dagger in hand, and lunged. The assassin fell backwards, startled, and placed her hand against the window, slipping outside onto the ledge. Elsa bolted upright in her bed, and Nuri strode over to her, laying a hand on her shoulder to calm her. "Stay here!" Anna called out, and poked her head out of the window. She spotted the would-be assassin climbing up a drainpipe towards the roof. Gingerly, she placed her slippered foot on the ledge. It was extremely slippery, but Anna braved it anyway. She shuffled over towards the drainpipe, telling herself not to look down. She found the drainpipe, and clambered up it the best she could. At the top, she grasped the ledge, hoisted herself up, and found herself to be on the roof of the castle.

 _(Jango's Escape, John Williams)_

The assassin turned, saw her standing there, and broke out into a sprint. "STOP!" Anna cried out, running after her. They were sprinting on a flat strip of roof surrounded on both sides by sloping tiles and thin metal struts for support. Suddenly, the assassin turned around and swung the dagger. Anna jumped back, nearly losing her balance. The assassin charged again, but Anna wrapped her arms around the assassin's stomach and headbutted her. She grunted in pain, and was knocked onto her back, dropping the dagger in the process. She kicked Anna in the face, knocking her backwards. She tasted warm coppery blood in her mouth, and groaned. The assassin fumbled to get her dagger. Anna spotted a loose iron support and scooped it up just as the assassin brought her dagger to bear. Utilizing skills from her weapons class, Anna, holding the bar like a staff, blocked the attack. She then thrust the bar into the assassin's face, rocking her back on her heels.

The assassin swung again. Anna parried the blow, and jabbed one end of the heavy bar into the assassin's left knee. This time she cried out in pain as something snapped like a dry twig. The assassin fell to her kness, nursing her wounded knee, when Anna swung the bar like a baseball bat. It connected with the assassin's cheek, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She pitched forward, dagger spilling from her hands, and Anna caught her by the shoulders. The dagger slid onto the tiles, and Anna watched as it slid off the roof, landing somewhere the gods only knew. She heard footsteps behind her, and glanced over her shoulder as Kristoff jerkily climbed up the drainpipe and stepped onto the roof. Anna raised a hand. "Got our assassin. She put up a bit of a fight. Can you help me get her down?"

Kristoff took one look at the incapacitated assassin, frowning. "Give her to me." Using all of her strength, Anna lifted the assassin and thrust her into his arms. He lifted her over his shoulder, and started to head back down the drainpipe towards Elsa's room. It was a tense few minutes, with Kristoff teetering on the ledges precariously. Finally, he stepped through the window and breathed a sigh of relief. Slowly, he lay the still assassin on the door. Guards were in the room. Kristoff looked up at them and spoke: "Go downstairs and check the gates. I want no one in or out right now." The guards bowed and took their leave just as Anna slipped back through the window.

Elsa and Nuri were sitting together on the bed, his arm around her shoulders. She was resting her head against his chest. From underneath his hand, Kristoff felt the assassin begin to stir. "Honey, get me a chair. Quickly." Frantically, Anna pulled up Elsa's desk chair and set it next to Kristoff. He transferred the awakening assassin into the chair. Looking around, he shooed the couple off of the bed, and pulled off the sheets. He then quickly knotted them around the assassin's arms and legs just as soon as she awoke. Her eyes flew open, and her mouth curled into a snarl.

"I was beaten... by a princess?" she asked angrily. Anna smirked. "Honey, I'm not your everyday princess." Elsa ignored the banter, and placed herself in front of the assassin. "Do you know who you were trying to kill?" she asked, anger rising in her stomach. "Yes. You" the assassin said. "Who hired you?" Elsa asked. The assassin was silent, then mumbled: "The old guy was right. It wasn't a clean one." Anger took hold of Elsa. "WHO HIRED YOU?!" she screamed. The assassin looked up into Elsa's eyes, almost pleadingly: "Fine. It was the D-"

She never finished her sentence. The window behind her exploded into a shower of glass that rained down upon the room. Anna screamed in surprise while Kristoff shielded her from the debris. Elsa raised a sleeve, then glanced up at their captive. Her jaw was slack, eyes glass marbles in their sockets. Jutting out of her skull was a single arrow. Elsa looked behind the dead assassin and to the rooftops. She could faintly make the outline of a shadow out, and then, as almost to confirm her suspicions, the shadow moved, and faded into darkness.

Without any thought or pretext, Elsa reached inside the dead woman's peasant dress, and found herself clutching a small tube of parchment. Cautiously, she unrolled it. The parchment read:

 _To Zola Martier and Dahmin Voss:_

 _Fifty thousand coins for the Snow Queen's head. Double for the sister's as well._

Beneath the kill orders was a name signed in a stagnant flourish. Elsa had never hoped to see this name again, or even think about it. She remembered him well from the coronation, how he had tried to dance with her and ended up dancing with Anna instead. She remembered the men he sent after her, who almost had killed her in her own ice palace. The kill orders were signed: _The Duke of Weaselton_


	20. Book II: Chapter 4

**IV**

 **Salvage**

Dahmin sunk into the darkness of the night, skulking in the quiet streets of the town. He still couldn't get over the fact that his long-time partner was dead at his own hand. From a professional standpoint, he knew that she could've given away the name of their client, and in this business, most of the clients preferred to keep their identities in shadow. But the human side of him was crying out in pain. It seemed to roar _You killed her_ over and over again in his mind. He had gunned her down like a rabid dog in the street, and this is what he was doing? Abandoning the contract just because it was in shambles? He ground his teeth together. Zola wouldn't have wanted him to do that. No, she would want him to finish this job once and for all.

Without thinking, he stripped his peasant dress off and let it flutter onto the cobblestone street. He abruptly turned around, unsheathing his sword and crossbow, ready to finish what he had started. He grinned violently. The Snow Queen was never going to know what hit her.

* * *

She was lying on her back. Light filled her vision, and then receded. Elsa tried to raise a hand to block the light, but she found that she couldn't move them. She tried her feet, but they wouldn't budge either. As her vision cleared, she found that she couldn't speak either. Somebody had placed a leather mask over her mouth and nose, and all that she could hear when she spoke were muffled grunts.

She was back here again, stuck in this never ending nightmare. A shadow fell across her vision. Leaning above her was Hans on the night of his death, still clutching the crossbow. He pressed it against her temple. "Long live the Queen" he muttered, and she saw his finger tighten on the trigger. Suddenly, by some unknown force, he was thrown aside and there stood Anna. She leaned forward and began to work at Elsa's restraints. From under the mask, Elsa smiled. She stopped halfway through, puzzled, and then Elsa saw the sword sticking out of her sister's stomach. Anna's eyes rolled up into the back of her head, and she slumped forward onto the still captive Elsa. Elsa started screaming as the last thing she saw before blacking out was the Sorcerer's malignant face on her young sister's body.

* * *

Elsa awoke, smothering her face with a pillow to muffle the screams. Ever since the kidnapping, her dreams, already dark to begin with, got even worse. And now, with these assassins after her head, she guaranteed that her dreams were going to get worse. And she was right. But there was no time to think about that. The Duke was the main priority. Elsa had alerted the royal council for a meeting tomorrow morning. She glanced over at her broken window. Kristoff and Nuri had moved the body out of the room. For all Elsa knew, they were both asleep. Her heart ached at the thought of Nuri. Suddenly, there was an intense knocking at the door. Elsa rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, clambered out of the bed, and opened the door. It was Gerda, and her face told Elsa everything she needed to know.

"What's happened?" she asked. Just then, the darkness behind her flickered, and her face went slack. Elsa gasped as a pommel poked its way out of her chest. The servant gurgled blood, collapsed to her knees, and fell over with a thump. There stood the second assassin, crossbow in one hand, sword in the other. Elsa didn't think, but acted. The assassin swung his sword in Elsa raised her arms and created a sword of ice. The two connected with a screeching clang, and the fight began in earnest.

The assassin lowered Elsa's guard and socked her in the face, launching her backwards. She recovered, and brought the sword to bear, nicking the assassin on the shoulder. He grunted and knocked the sword out of her hand. It landed on the floor and shattered. Before she could defend herself, the assassin threw down his own sword and charged directly at her. Elsa realized what he was planning to do. _No,_ she thought as he tackled her into the window behind her. It shattered, and the two were in free-fall. Elsa threw an icy blast at his face. He released his hold on her, and she turned to face the quickly rising ground.

Thrusting both hands in front of her, Elsa summoned all of her magic and focused it into one pile of soft, cushy, snow. She landed in it with a thump, and poked her head out of the pile. The assassin was not so lucky. He reached for an alcove and missed, fingers grazing the edge of it. He plummeted without a sound to the cobblestone streets. His body connected with a large wet _SPLAT!_ She looked away and towards the castle, where it had been rudely awoken by the crashing glass. Guards rushed out of the castle, and leading them was Anna. The sight of her sister in a flowing pink nightgown clutching a short-sword made Elsa grin.

The first thing Anna saw was the pile of snow, and then the broken body of the assasssin. Her first thought was _Really? Twice in one night?_ She ran over to the snow pile and helped Elsa climb out of it. They embraced just as Kristoff and Nuri sprinted over to where they were standing. Kristoff looked over and voiced the opinion on everyone's mind: "We have got to find a solution to this. _Now._ "


	21. Book II: Chapter 5

**V**

 **Out of the Frying Pan...**

The next morning, the royal family sat at the breakfast table, silently mulling the eventful night. After mountains of pancakes and syrup were passed around, Elsa took time in between mouthfuls to explain her idea. "We have to confront the Duke about this. I say that I alone must go and face him, and get him to confess to his crimes against the state." Nuri thought about it, swallowed, then spoke: "No. If this Duke is after your head, it would not be wise to present it to him."

Elsa gaped. "Are you suggesting that I go into hiding?" Nuri shook his head. "No. I'm saying that you should send... an ambassador, perhaps. Someone who can reason with the Duke and be tactful. Someone who always sees the good in everyone." As if on cue, both of their heads rotated towards Anna, who was cramming a particularly large portion of pancakes in her mouth.

 _"Whooff, mmeh?"_ She asked through the barrier of sticky cakes. Kristoff frowned and instantly replied. "I'm gonna go with her." He turned towards the slowly protesting Anna. "Sorry, honey, but I want to help you stay out of trouble, something _everybody_ in this family has a hard time with." Anna swallowed her food and faced her sister. "When are we leaving?" Elsa thought for a few moments, then replied solemnly: "Today. I want this problem resolved as fast as it can be, before it escalates any further. I will not hide in the shadows and cower." Kristoff nodded, then looked at his wife. "We better pack our things, then."

* * *

Several hours later, after what seemed like the entire castle was packed away into two small bags, Anna and Kristoff stood at the top of the gangplank, waving goodbye to everybody. Elsa ran up to her sister and embraced her for the longest time, as Sven nudged Kristoff in the shoulder pleadingly. "No buddy, I'm sorry, but you can't come. Somebody's gotta keep the Queen out of trouble" he told the reindeer with a wink in his eye. This earned him an icy glare and a playful punch from Elsa. The couple exchanged one last glance and then turned and went below decks to settle into their new home. The ship raised anchor, and began to sail away from the dock, leaving only Elsa, Nuri, Olaf, and Sven to watch the sun sink into the horizon.

Back in the castle, several hours later, Elsa and Nuri lay on a couch in the sitting room, his arm placed gingerly around her shoulders. She was all snuggled up against his side when something wracked her stomach. Elsa felt something fluttering in her stomach, and it from the way the feeling set her stomach on fire, it was not fear. She clutched Nuri's shoulder. He instantly turned and saw the pain in her eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked. Elsa open her mouth to speak and replied with a spray of blood that drenched Nuri's face.

 _(Danse Macabre, Saint Saens)_

"By the gods!" he shrieked, lifting Elsa into his arms. Nuri looked at Olaf and Sven, whose wide eyes were as large as grapefruits. "Get a doctor, please!" he commanded. They glanced at each other, then took off running. He laid her on the ground and pried her mouth wide open. Her eyes rolled up into her head, and she began quivering violently as another geyser of blood shot up, soiling Nuri's suit. He didn't know what to do, and just about as he was to administer rescue breathing before he noticed black mist drifting lazily out of her chest. The mist floated over to beside Elsa, and just floated there as Elsa stopped shaking. Nuri turned and saw the mist beginning to take... a human shape. With a sickening feeling rising in his chest, Nuri finally realized what was going on.

A woman began to fade into the black mist. A bluish-green ice dress flowed loosely. Her face was a lot like Elsa's, except the eyes were green, not blue, and there was more of a mischievous look to her. But what really defined her was the jet-black hair that shot backwards from her head into one big point.

Asle had returned.

She glanced down at Nuri and Elsa, who was finally beginning to recover. Nuri knelt in a state of shock. "Oh. It's you" she said. Elsa weakly sat up. "You... you didn't take my powers." Asle smiled. "No, I didn't. You see, with all that time spent in you, I developed powers of my own, so I didn't have to steal yours. But I'm not here to explain to you everything.

"No, I'm here to warn you. You are still in danger. The Duke of Weaselton isn't the only thing out there that wants your head, Elsa. I feel the Demon stirring once more, and he won't be easy to put down this time."

Elsa and Nuri shot each other looks of concern. Finally, Elsa spoke. "The Demon's coming back? After all that happened?" In her mind, she heard a raspy voice whisper _I will show you fear in a handful of dust._ The voice of a dead man.

"Yes. And I also fear for your sister and her husband, the ice man. Since your last meeting, the Duke has gotten paranoid and obsessed with Arendelle. He has become a dictator, and I doubt he will welcome your sister and her husband with open arms. More likely, his ships will open fire if he spots the Arendelle flag flying." Elsa gapsed. "You lie. He would not dare" she stated. Alse only shook her head. "May the gods have mercy on your sister" she said. Elsa turned to Nuri, eyes wide with fear. "We have to go after them, before anything happens. I am not going to lose my sister again."

* * *

Anna stood on the bow of the ship, letting the wind blow through her hair. She was going on an adventure, for once in her life, finally getting out of the castle and into somewhere unknown. Well, it wasn't exactly _unknown_ , but it was close enough. She closed her eyes and focused on the task at hand. How was she going to convince the Duke to stop trying to kill her sister. Her concentration was broken by a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes, turned around, and saw her husband standing there, smiling. "Are you alright?" he asked. She smiled back and said: "Yeah. Just thinking of what to say to the Duke."

Suddenly, the boat shook violently, knocking the couple down onto the deck. Anna brushed her hair out of her eyes and stood up, only to see three boats surrounding them. All of the ships were flying a blue flag with a black weasel on it, teeth bearing down viciously. A plank was dropped onto the ship, and Anna saw three soldiers clad in black armor. The captain of the Arendelle ship, a greasy fellow with crooked teeth by the name of Bids approached the soldiers. "What's going on 'ere?" he asked.

"In the name of the Duke of Weaselton, we are placing these two-" He cocked a thumb at Anna and Kristoff "-under arrest." Bids thought for a moment, then replied. "You can't do that! These 'ere are ambassadors! From Arendelle. Please, sir, we mean no 'arm!" Bids was cut off my a swinging sound that seperated his head from his body. Anna screamed as she was seized from behind. "Kill the crew and burn the ship! The Duke wants these two alive" spoke the lead soldier. Anna got one last glimpse of chaos before her world was darkened by a black bag. She felt something strike the back of her neck, and she knew no more.


	22. Book II: Chapter 6

**VI**

 **Into the Fire**

 _(Binary Sunset/ Duel of the Fates (Reprise), John Williams)_

Elsa, Nuri, and Asle stood on the gangplank of a ship, waving goodbye to the kingdom. Olaf and Sven watched the three departs. "Don't worry, guys! I promise not to screw anything up!" Olaf called to them. Elsa smiled at him through her fear, and clutched Nuri's hand tight. She waved once more as the ship began to pull away from the Arendelle docks. When the docks were finally fading into the distance, Elsa turned to her companions and spoke: "Be prepared for a fight. If anything thing Asle said is true, we are not welcome." Nuri and Alse both nodded, and three went below decks to prepare for the journey ahead.

A few hours later, Elsa came above decks to find Nuri sitting on the bow staring out into the slowly dying Sun. She walked to him silently and placed her hands on his shoulders. He snapped out of his thoughts, turned and smiled. She smiled back, her face growing hot. He was always so warm to touch. Probably due to his fire powers. _Wait,_ she thought, _how come he hasn't used his fire powers in, like, forever?_ She thought about asking him, but mentally decided that the question was too personal. There was probably a good reason behind it. "I still love you" he said. "I love you too" she replied. "Look, I know this is really awkward, but I haven't been using my powers, because I haven't found a good time to use them."

"Oh look. They're in love" a voice called out mockingly. The couple spun around and Asle standing there, a ghost of a smirk on her lips. Nuri became enraged. "Why you little..." he said, sparking a flame in her hand. Suddenly, Asle began to quiver and fell onto the deck. Elsa and Nuri both quickly knelt on either side of her.

"Asle!" Elsa cried out. Alse raised her head and spoke in a deep monotone voice that Elsa had no trouble remembering: " _I will kill you, Snow Queen and Fire King. Mark my words. You cannot run from your demise, for not even the gods can escape pure darkness._ " Her head fell again and she passed out. The queen of ice and the king of fire looked at each other, fear gleaming in their eyes. Without warning, Asle bolted upright and gasped for air as though she had been drowning. She looked at her two friends. "Asle. When did you learn to do that?" Elsa asked. Alse looked directly at Elsa and said: "That wasn't me."

"The Demon" Nuri almost whispered.

"I think I still have some form of link to him, that monster" Asle said. "I can feel his emotions, his plans. He's coming for us. And he is not happy."

* * *

Darkness. Then, blurred motions in the corners of her eyes. She opened her eyes slowly, revealing the grinning, malevolent face of the Duke. His white hair was frizzled everywhere on the top of his head, and his beady little eyes squinted through glasses precariously perched on top of his nose. Anna realized where she was, and tried to lunge at her captor. Her arms were locked in manacles attached to the wall behind her. She was in a musty, dank dungeon. Kristoff was nowhere to be seen. Anna tried her lips, but found that they seemed to have been rusted shut. Finally, she spoke: "Where... is my husband?"

"He is... separate from you, milady" he spoke in a pompous, smug voice that attacked Anna's ears like a swarm of angry bees. "It would be safer. No young loves making plans to escape. Not that you could" he said. "Why-" she asked, but was cut off. "No one, _no one,_ denies me anything. If I want a trade partnership with a country, say, Arendelle, I get it. Your sister denied me and made me a laughing stock. And she is a monster. No one like that deserves to live."

"No one like you deserves to live, you scum-sucking gearbag" Anna replied, and spit in his face. The Duke wiped out the spit with one gloved hand, and then slapped her straight across the face. The slap rattled her jaw and stung her cheek, but it did not lessen her courage. "You will regret messing with us, Duke. We both have powerful friends." The Duke only grinned again. "Let's hope your friends can fly here, milady. I have set you and your husband's execution for tomorrow afternoon in the Royal Weaselton Arena, for trespassing with harmful intent." And with that, he strode out of the dungeon, shoes clicking against the cobblestones, leaving Anna agape in shock of the news.

Tomorrow?

* * *

 _(A Night on Bald Mountain, Modest Mussorgsky)_

Back in Arendelle, business that had been proceeding normally came to a grinding halt as people watched the tip of the North Mountain in a mixture of fear and awe. A while after the Queen left, a small boy had glanced up at the North Mountain and screamed in pure terror. People snapped their heads upwards and saw that the tip of the mountain was glowing a bright orange, as if the mountain was going to spew holy fire upon the city. The tip finally split open in two as though the gods themselves were tearing it apart. And from the crack rose a monstrosity that was indescribable. It shrieked, a sound so full of hate and fury that caused the townspeople to cover their ears, and flew into the distance.

* * *

They attacked at nighttime. When Elsa heard from the captain that they were approaching Weaselton, she tensed up, along with Asle and Nuri. And suddenly, she saw three ships emerge from a wall of mist, flying the Weaselton flag. Elsa, Asle, and Nuri all prepared for a fight.

 _(The Kraken, Hans Zimmer)_

One of the ships launched a salvo of cannon fire that tore through the ship like a hot knife through butter. Regaining his balance, Nuri launched a fireball towards the attacking ship and set the night alight with a golden glow. The attacking ship began to burn as the fire spread. Elsa froze the boards of another ship while Asle created spears of ice from the sea and stabbed the final ship. The third ship tore itself to pieces on the ice spears and was reduced to kindling in a matter of seconds. The second ship rammed into the Arendelle ship and black-armored men swarmed onto the ship like bugs. Nuri created a wall of flame that held them back. Elsa and Asle created swords of ice within their hands just as Nuri's flame barrier gave out. The two women charged towards the soldiers and met them in battle.

Hours of intense training could not have prepared the soldiers for the two icy Valkyries that flew through their ranks, slicing so fine the air itself seemed to bleed. Within a minute, most of the soldiers were dead, save for one, the captain. Asle swung at him, but over-extended her reach. The captain ducked and stuck his axe into Alse's stomach. She grunted in pain and went down. Nuri grabbed him by the throat and about burnt his face with a fireball, but Elsa stopped him. They both nodded to each other. "Where are the ambassadors?" The captain remained silent. Nuri raised his glowing fist. "How would you like your face? Rare or extra crispy?" At this, the captain's composure broke. "The ambassdors... are to be executed tomorrow in the arena." Nuri lowered his fist and, with all of his might, threw the captain over the edge of the ship. He turned to Elsa, who was tending to Asle.

"Ow" Asle said, and ripped the axe out of her stomach. There was no blood on it, and the wound began to immediately close. Elsa and Nuri stared down at her, dumbstruck. "Remember? Spawn of your emotions? Not exactly human?" she said. They both looked at each other, and shrugged. Elsa turned around, and saw that their ship was in flames from the cannon fire. "We'll continue this conversation later. We must get off this boat. Jump!" The three of them leaped onto the remaining Weaselton ship just as the flames spread to the deck where they were standing. When the explosion died away, Nuri turned to Elsa. "Now what?" he asked.

"We'll have to be quick. The Duke will surely notice that his attack failed" Asle said. Elsa noticed the flag was still flying and were was armor scattered all around. "The attack didn't fail. I have an idea" she said, and explained her daring plan to the rest of the group.

 _Hold on, Anna. We're coming to save you._


	23. Book II: Chapter 7

**VII**

 **The Execution**

The Duke of Weaselton was in a jolly mood. Earlier that morning, his captain of the guard had awoken him and told him of an Arendelle ship that had tried to break the blockade. Apparently, the witch and her beastly companions had been aboard. The captain had reported that the witch had perished in the flames. However, the cost to his guard was great. Only three soldiers survived, and it was from their testimony that No matter. The Weaselton army was numerous, with many loyal young men ready to die for the cause. Inside, his heart did a malicious happy dance at the news.

Finally! His own men had succeeded where those fool bounty hunters only dithered. Best in the country, bah! A child would've had better luck killing the Snow Queen. But as he thought this, he mourned for the loss her head. It would've made such a lovely desk decoration. Her skull would've made an excellent quill-holder.

But her naive sister's head would suffice. He would throw out her husband's after he was done with it. The Duke had no use of a head that was not of royal descent. Besides, the ice-man hadn't done anything to wrong him. Just the pair of sisters. He pushed all these thoughts aside, and began to change from his nightclothes into his finest suit. One had to look at their best when attending the execution of their most hated enemies. And The Duke had no tolerance for sloppiness.

* * *

 _(Love Pledge and The Arena, John Williams)_

Anna was awoken by the sound of grinding metal. She groggily looked up to see the dungeon door fly open and a black shape tossed into the room. Suddenly, her manacles pinning her to the wall released, and she fell onto the floor next to the shape. It was Kristoff, moaning in pain. His face was bruised and cut in several places, as though some wannabe boxer had used him for a punching bag. He groaned and looked into his wife's eyes. He clutched her tight, just as the door opened again. "On your feet, prisoners!" cried a guard as rough hands grabbed her and stood her up. Three guards circled around them like vultures and watched them closely. Kristoff looked over at Anna and whispered. "Well, it's been a ride."

"I know. I love you so much, Kristoff Bjorman. And if we die, so be it. At least I'm gonna die with you." She leaned over and the two kissed, holding it for what seemed like an eternity. They were finally broken apart by two guards, and the room was quiet. Almost too quiet. Suddenly, it lurched straight upwards, as though they all were ascending to heaven. Finally, the rising stopped, and the walls fell down, revealing a metallic arena lined with people on every side. It seemed as though the entire city had come to watch the execution. In front of the couple was a large black box with a helmeted soldier standing next to it. To Anna's horror, the soldier was sharping an axe. Suddenly, all movement within the crowd and on the field ceased as trumpets heralded the arrival of the Duke.

The Duke strode into sight, perched in his royal viewing box, standing on a pillow so he peer over the railing of the box. At the sight of the pillow, Anna snickered, a noise that was thankfully unheard by the soldiers. The Duke waved his hands, and the crowd fell silent. "Today, proud citizens of Weaselton, we are gathered here today to witness the execution of two insidious tresspassers. Their names are not important, only the justice. What do you say?" The crowd roared so loud that hurt Anna's ears. "It is settled then. Begin the executions" the Duke announced, leaning back on his pillow. Anna and Kristoff were herded forward towards the waiting headsman. He was clad in all black from head to toe, and Anna couldn't see his face. Two assistants flanked him, both helmeted and cloaked in cold steel armor. "Ladies first" the headsman said. Anna knelt down on the ground, and laid her neck on the block. She closed her eyes and waited for the end to follow quickly.

But it didn't. She opened one eye and saw that the headsman had moved up his visor, revealing only his mouth. "Princess?" he said, and then broke into a clear, unmistakable voice that Anna had no trouble recognizing: _"Do you want to build a snowman?"_ Anna smiled. "Yes." Her sister the headsman drove the axe into the neck of the nearest soldier. The headsman's assistants ripped off their helmets, revealing Nuri and... was that Asle? They unsheathed their swords and made short work of the soldiers. By then, the crowd was on their feet, roaring at the top of their lungs. The Duke stood up, and waved his hands once more. Guards poured into the area from the crowd and surrounded the five.

The soldiers were knocked off their feet by blasts of ice and fire. Anna and Kristoff grabbed swords from the fallen soldiers and began to fend off the soldiers themselves. Time slowed, and all Anna thought about was stabbing, swinging, dodging and parrying. After what seemed to be forever, the waves of soldiers began to slow and finally stop. Many of the bodies were scorched, impaled with ice, and limbless. Blood was everywhere, oozing from all of the bodies. Anna looked around and noticed that the crowd was silent. The Duke still stood on top of his pillow, face contorted into one of pure rage. Elsa called up to the Duke, almost mockingly. "We are here to discuss your assassinations attempts on me, Duke. And let me say this: _I am not amused._ " She unfurled her bright blue hands and waved them over her head. Snowflakes began to fall onto the area floor.

Suddenly, an ungodly shriek arose from the sky. Looking up, Anna saw a large black shape blotting out the sun. She and the rest of the group took steps back as The Demon of the North Mountain landed in the middle of the arena, ready for vengeance. It sniffed the air, turned around, and reached one massive claw into the Duke's private box, dangling the Duke by one foot. "Appetizers" he said. "NO! Let me go, fiend! I am the Duke of Weaselton and I will not be treated like some animAAAAAAA-" he cried as the Demon opened his mouth and swallowed him whole. He burped, and cringed as though he had been sucking on a lemon. He turned back to the group, and spoke in his insane monotone voice: "Now for the main course, a dish best served cold. Vengeance."


	24. Book II: Chapter 8

**VIII**

 **End of the Line**

 _(Duel of the Fates, John Williams)_

"I have long awaited this moment, Snow Queen. I can taste your fear like sweet wine on my lips. You know you cannot defeat me, even with your family helping you" The Demon said, licking his lips. Oh how he would enjoy destroying her, the insolent girl that had shamed him and cast him into the fires of a thousand suns! Silence arose from the group before Nuri stepped forward. "You have become so blind in your quest that you have forgotten its true purpose, _Sorcerer._ I am the one you want, not her. Remember what my father did to you."

"NO!" he shrieked, swiping a meaty claw downwards at the Fire King. He rolled out of the way as the fist smashed into the earth and left a dent in the arena floor. "YOU ALL DESERVE TO DIE!" Anna quickly glanced around and noticed that all of the spectators had fled their seats in fear of their lives. Elsa took a sword of ice from her hand and threw it like a javelin at the Demon. It embedded itself in the fist, and the Demon roared in pain. He leaned back on his haunches, then launched himself forward at the group, which scattered. Elsa, Nuri, and Asle were left fighting the Demon with every bit of magic and skill at their disposal while Anna and Kristoff were knocked backwards. Nuri launched a fireball that hit the Demon just below the eye. He roared and the ground split open as skeletons crawled out of it and swarmed towards the band of fighters. Elsa waved her arms and froze the skeletons in their place. Anna and Kristoff ran forwards, swords in arms, and smashed the frozen skeletons.

The Demon screamed in rage "I WILL SMITE YOU ALL!" he shouted, and pounded the ground. Three figures rose from the ground, and Anna screamed in terror. Their faces had mostly rotted off, but Anna saw her mother, father, and Hans slowly shamble towards them. Elsa gasped and lost her footing, shocked that the Demon would stoop this low to defeat them. Asle, Nuri, and Kristoff grimly smiled and stepped to meet the undead challengers. Asle froze Idun and smashed her to bits, Nuri set Adgar alight with a flick of his wrist, and Kristoff jammed his sword into Hans' throat and twisted, knocking the traitor's head into the sand. Justice had been done.

Elsa moved forward to pick up the traitor's head as Kristoff tended to Anna and made sure she was okay. Elsa glared into his lifeless eyes, and felt the year and a half of pent-up rage release. She took the head and punted it out of the area. The group watched the head sail out of the area, and along with it, the rage of a scorned queen. The Demon slammed his fists into the earth again. It shook, but nothing happened. Nuri then noticed that the ground beneath Elsa was beginning to glow a hellish green. "ELSA!" he cried, ran forward, and threw her out of the way just as green hellfire broke through the surface of the ground and burned Nuri alive.

Two screams were heard: the sound of a man set on fire by magic, and his lover, clutching her cheeks in despair. The fires receded, leaving only a charred Nuri swaying uncertainly. After a few heartbeats, he pitched forwards and crumpled on the sandy floor. Kristoff grabbed Elsa and began to cradle her in his arms. The Demon took one look at the smoldering body, and then laughed, a booming, unholy sound that sent shivers down the spine of the entire group. "Killed by his own magic. How... pathetic." He closed on the group, fangs bared. Asle stood in front of them, arms outstretched, ready to laugh. He laughed again. "My former servant. You think you can kill me?"

"I killed you once, _Master._ I can do it again." Asle said, and charged forward. "ASLE! NO!" cried out Elsa. In one swift motion, The Demon scooped her up in one fist and threw her onto the ground. She felt ribs and bones snap within her, and she cried out. The Demon raised his fist and smashed her into the ground. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust" he said. He raised his head towards the heavens. "I AM INVINCIBLE!" he roared. Elsa glared up at him and tried to charge forward, but was restrained by her family. Tears were streaming down her face.

 _(The Phoenix, Fall Out Boy)_

And there was a groan. Elsa stopped struggling and saw the charred Nuri rise from his place. He looked directly at the Demon, who was staring at the Fire King with a mixture of confusion and awe.

"But... how?" was the very first thing out of Elsa's mouth. Nuri grinned. "Second wind, baby." He turned to the Demon "Did you really think you could kill me with my own magic? That was pretty stupid of you. Now it's time to fight fire with fire" he said, and then clapped his hands twice. In a instant Nuri was gone, replaced by a giant glowing red bird. Elsa recognized it as a phoenix, and all of her broken resolve was instantly repaired. She created two ice swords and charged directly at the Demon as Nuri swooped forwards and tried to claw at the Demon's eyes. The Demon warded off the bird with the swipe of his claw, but could not defend himself from Elsa's brutal ice attacks.

Try all he could, The Demon could not keep himself defended on two fronts: ground and air. Finally, after several minutes, he fell to eye level with Elsa. He looked her in the eyes, and she stared back. He attempted to speak, but was stopped when Elsa took both ice swords and stabbed him right between the eyes. The Demon of the North Mountain breathed his last, and knew no more.


	25. Book II: Chapter 9

**IX**

 **Die to Live**

Elsa stood back, admiring her handiwork. The Phoenix landed next to her, and in a feat of magic, suddenly transformed back into Nuri. They embraced each other for what felt like an eternity. There was a moan from behind them. Elsa turned around and saw a hand appear out of the crater that the Demon had formed. One hand turned into two hands, and Elsa felt a sick feeling in her stomach. She rushed over to the hole, gently grasped one of the hands, and lifted Asle out of her purposed tomb. Asle coughed up a black liquid, and to Elsa's horror, it was blood. "I thought you said you didn't bleed!" Elsa said. "Magic inflicted wounds... are a different story" Asle explained in choppy breaths.

"I think you're dying" she told Nuri. Asle coughed. "Thank you, Captain Obvious. Anything else important... I should know?" Asle shot back. Asle looked up at Elsa with big wet eyes. Anna and Kristoff stood grimly, watching the dark queen's final moments play out. "Elsa?... I think... you can help me" she said. "Freeze... my heart."

"I can't do that. I don't want to kill you" Elsa replied. Alse coughed up more blood. "Desperate times... call for desperate measures. Do it. Just do it." She closed her eyes. Elsa looked back at the rest of the group, then back at her split personality. Closing her eyes, she thrust her hands forward, and cast a shard of ice into Asle's heart. Her eyes suddenly flew open as she gasped. Her body seized up, then came crashing back down. Elsa held her breath. For thirty seconds, nothing happened. Then, black mist began to float down Asle's body, coating her in an dark icy armor.

Her eyes fluttered open lightly. She breathed, and leaned up to hug Elsa. She clutched Elsa's shoulders and whispered "Thank you." Tears rolled down Elsa's face and buried themselves into Asle's dress. A hand fell upon her back, and Nuri spoke the one thought on everybody's mind: "Let's go home."

* * *

When the "borrowed" boat arrived back at Arendelle, the first thing that struck Elsa was the upbeat feeling of the town, like some great weight had been lifted. Not even before they had gotten off of the boat, Olaf and Sven were there. Olaf had fashioned himself a makeshift crown of twigs. He ran up to Elsa and hugged her tightly. Sven looked at Kristoff with increasing disdain before snorting. "Look buddy, I'm still sorry for leaving you here." He reached into his satchel. "How about a nice carrot to cheer you up?" At the sight of the bright orange carrot, Sven's eyes lit up. In one swift motion, he snatched the carrot out of Kristoff's hand, and within three bites, it was gone. Kristoff chuckled and lightly took Anna's hand in his. Elsa and Nuri looked at each other. "I love you, Nuri. What you did back there... it was incredible."

He shrugged it off. "It wasn't just for you, Elsa. All those years of vengeance... gone. I feel free now. Thank you" At that moment, they kissed. And in that single moment, time stopped as the stars aligned. They broke off from the kiss. "What now? No more assassins, or monsters, or nightmares for that matter." Nuri contemplated the remark for a minute before responding. "We relax" he said, the ghost of a grin touching his lips. Elsa threw back her head and laughed, a sound that had never sounded so good to Nuri's ears. Asle smirked. "I ought to find myself some love. Or something like that, I dunno." The entire group walked towards the castle. Passing a darkened alley, Elsa also noticed that everything seemed to be intact. Not one thing was out of place. Elsa breathed a sigh of relief. All was right with the world. For once. Perhaps they would finally find peace.


	26. Book II: Epilogue

**Epilogue:**

 **Watcher of the Night**

None of them had paid attention to what lay at the end of the darkened alley. From the shadows of the alley, a pair of bright, glowing yellow eyes appeared from thin air. Something had been watching them since Weaselton. And it knew one terrible truth that the royal family was oblivious to.

The royal family had not escaped the nightmare. They had only entered the eye of the storm, created themselves a false sense of security. The eyes knew that the family would face its final, toughest battle soon. And the eyes knew that it must help them at all costs. The eyes vanished, and instead, a frightful, chuckling noise echoed throughout the alley. It was as if something was trying to laugh. As it knew too much.

The Demon was dead, yes. But only in the flesh. His soul, his energy, sought out a host that could sustain its energies, that could channel the darkness. For now, he would resurrect one of his minions and use it. But the eyes knew what the endgame was, the final goal.

The undiscovered seed of a child growing within Princess Anna.


	27. Book III: Prologue

**Book III**

 **Hunters**

* * *

 _"O Death, O Death, won't you spare me over 'til another year?_

 _Well, what is this, that I can't see, with ice cold hands taking hold of me?_

 _When God is gone and the Devil takes hold, who'll have mercy on my soul?_

 _O Death, O Death, consider my age, please don't take me at this stage._

 _O Death, O Death, won't you spare me over 'til another year?"_

 **Traditional folk song**

 _"This is how we stand when_

 _When they burn our houses down_

 _This is how we sing, oh glory"_

 **Paramore**

 _"If if bleeds, we can kill it"_

 **Arnold Schwarzenegger**

* * *

 **Prologue:**

 **Two Shadows in the Night**

 ** _5 BTT_**

The large, dominating forest stood silent in the night. It rippled figure cut through the stillness like a swift knife, sprinting as fast as it could. One thought raced through its head, over and over again, like a broken marionette flopping around on a frayed string:

 _I have to get out of here. I have to get out of here._

From behind this shadow, torchlight broke through the trees, revealing a large hunting party mounted on horses. Their horses snorted as the galloped after the shadow. The shadow felt the earth shake beneath its feet as the horses began to gain on it. Moving quicker than the wind, the shadow faked a left turn, then dove headfirst into a large, overgrown bush. The sh the stomping of hooves, the blinding torchlight, and the shouting of some seriously ticked off men as they all stormed by the bush. Holding its breath, the shadow prayed to the gods that the party would pass by. It was waiting for the moment when some unsuspecting hunter just so happened to graze the bush with his hand-

But the moment never came. the torchlight receded, and after a moment, the shadow's corner of the forest plunged back into darkness. The shadow waited a moment, then popped its head out of the bush. A thin beam of moonlight caught the shadow's head, revealing long, amber hair that shone brightly. The girl brought the rest of herself out of the bush and shook herself off. Her dress was caked in dirt and grime. Her shoes had since long come off, and she had been running barefoot since then. She was no older than 16. And here she was, running away on her wedding night. From her groom, whose one goal he wanted to achieve with the girl was to tame the wild stallion of her heart.

The entire town knew that she was a wild girl. Whenever her brothers would wrestle and play, she would join in him them, no matter how dirty the fighting got. She and the boys were thicker than thieves, terrorizing the whole town with their hellion-like behavior. But the marriage... It was no secret why the town hated her groom. He was some rich, spoiled, aristocrat living in the middle of nowhere so he could get "the full human experience" as he called it. Pale, thin, and gaunt, he was truly an outsider compared to the tanned, muscular farmers that dominated the area. To put their differences simply, the farmers believed in a hard's day work and family values. Her (ex)-groom believed in a bottle of wine for dinner while gossiping about the latest thing the king and queen had done in bed. How he took a fancy to her... only the gods knew.

The girl took two steps to her right, and traveled the opposite direction that the hunting party was going. She didn't care if she got lost in these woods. If they never found her, so what? Poppa had shown her how to survive, how to hunt, how to live, how to-

The girl heard a twig snap. It took her a moment to realize that she felt no wood underneath her feet. Looking around, she saw nobody else in her general area. She started to walk again when behind her, some leaves violently rustled. This time she spun around, but nobody was there. She told herself to calm down, but the girl couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching her. She scanned the trees, and found nothing. There was nobody following her, thank the gods-

It was at this moment her eyes detected a shimmering movement high up in one of the trees. She looked at it for a solid few seconds. Suddenly, two bright golden yellow eyes appeared where the shimmering was. Flabbergasted, the girl took three steps backwards and tripped on her dress. She fell as the eyes descended from the tree. A flash of light appeared, revealing a suit of armor unlike anything the girl had ever seen. Jutting out from the right shoulder was a thin, cylindrical device with a hole at the end of it. He wore what could only be called a death's-head helmet Locks of stringy black hair flowed from behind the helmet. Two enormous metal blades shot out of the armored suit's wrists, and the figure roared loudly. At this moment, for the first time in her life, the girl fainted, sure that she was about to meet her end.

* * *

When she came too, she realized that she was not on the forest floor any longer. She was inside a small hut furnished with very few belongings. As her eyes readjusted, she saw the armored suit sitting directly across from her. She gasped, and recoiled. The armored thing spoke, a deep, electronic baritone voice that sent shivers down her spine:

"Do not be afraid, little one. I mean you no harm." The girl tried to speak and found that her voice was not working. The armored suit continued. "I am glad I found you in the forest. It means you are brave. I like that in a person. You are probably wondering why I brought you here. I am dying, you see. I am an old and frail man. For many years, I have been looking to pass on the suit I wear to someone else worthy of it. It is a legendary suit. And also the only thing keeping me alive"

The girl tried to speak, and managed to form words that sounded squeaky in her own ears: "What are you?" The old man threw his head back and cackled loudy. "Why, dear girl, I am a Hunter. In my language, I was known as _Hish-Qu-Ten,_ or "one who hunts the night." I will train you in my ways, to learn the way of the Hish-Qu-Ten as I did when I was your age. Think about it. You could become the greatest warrior, sung for generations to come in song."

The girl thought about it. "And what if I don't agree?" The old man frowned within the suit. "I think it unwise for you. Where else could you go? Certainly not back to the village. No, you must stay here. It is your destiny."

After a minute of silence, the girl spoke up. "Okay, then. I agree. There's nothing else for me back home." The old man smiled within the suit. "So let us begin."


End file.
